SI. 

AN' 


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0 
0 
0 

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1 

3 
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MESSAGE  OF  ADOLF  KRAUS 


President  of  the  Executive  Committee 


/ 


OF  THE 


INDEPENDENT  ORDER  OF  B'NAI  B'RITH 


TO    THE 


CONSTITUTION   GRAND'  LODGE 


CONVENTION 


AT 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


APRIL,  1910. 


MESSAGE  OF  ADOLF  KRAUS 


President  of  the  Executive  Committee 


OF    THE 


INDEPENDENT  ORDER  OF  B'NAI  B'RITH 


TO    THE 


I 

CONSTITUTION   GRAND   LODGE 
CONVENTION 


AT 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


APRIL,  1910. 


MESSAGE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

To  the  Constitution  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
B'nai  B'rith,  in  Convention  Assembled: 

For  your  worthy  consideration,  the  following  report  of  matters 
affecting  the  Order,  and  of  its  activities  in  relation  thereto  dur- 
ing the  five  preceding  years,  is  respectfully  submitted  by  the 
undersigned. 

Shortly  after  the  last  Convention  of  the  Order  adjourned, 
through  the  efforts  of  the  President  of  our  Country,  a  Peace 
Conference  was  held  at  Portsmouth  between  the  representatives 
of  the  Governments  of  Russia  and  Japan.  When  the  Russian 
Government  selected  its  representative,  your  Executive  Com- 
mittee was  of  the  opinion  that,  although  the  Kishineff  petition 
signed  by  leading  men  of  this  Republic,  regardless  of  creed,  had 
no  visible  effect  upon  the  Russian  Government,  another  attempt 
should  be  made  to  bring  to  the  notice  of  that  government  the 
eentiment  of  the  American  people  concerning  the  atrocities 
which  were  being  continuously  committed  in  the  land  of  the 
Czar  against  our  unfortunate  co-religionists,  and  that  even  if  the 
effort  should  again  be  unsuccessful,  it  was  worth  while  under- 
taking, on  the  theory  "Steter  Tropfen  hoehlt  den  Stein." 

I  therefore  requested  Baron  Schlippenbach  who  was  then  the 
Russian  Consul  at  Chicago,  to  arrange  if  possible,  an  interview 
with  the  Russian  envoy,  in  order  that  we  might  again  present 
through  him,  to  the  Russian  Government,  our  grievances. 

The  Baron  kindly  undertook  the  task,  and  on  August  2,  1905, 
wired  me  from  New  York,  as  follows : 

"You  and  party  will  be  received  with  pleasure.  At  your  arrival  will 
appoint  time.  I  think  Friday  evening,  after  the  return  from  Presidential 
call." 


2095192 


MESSAGE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

To  the  Constitution  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
B'nai  B'rith,  in  Convention  Assembled: 

For  your  worthy  consideration,  the  following  report  of  matters 
affecting  the  Order,  and  of  its  activities  in  relation  thereto  dur- 
ing the  five  preceding  years,  is  respectfully  submitted  by  the 
undersigned. 

Shortly  after  the  last  Convention  of  the  Order  adjourned, 
through  the  efforts  of  the  President  of  our  Country,  a  Peace 
Conference  was  held  at  Portsmouth  between  the  representatives 
of  the  Governments  of  Eussia  and  Japan.  When  the  Russian 
Government  selected  its  representative,  your  Executive  Com- 
mittee was  of  the  opinion  that,  although  the  Kishineff  petition 
signed  by  leading  men  of  this  Republic,  regardless  of  creed,  had 
no  visible  effect  upon  the  Russian  Government,  another  attempt 
should  be  made  to  bring  to  the  notice  of  that  government  the 
sentiment  of  the  American  people  concerning  the  atrocities 
which  were  being  continuously  committed  in  the  land  of  the 
Czar  against  our  unfortunate  co-religionists,  and  that  even  if  the 
effort  should  again  be  unsuccessful,  it  was  worth  while  under- 
taking, on  the  theory  "Steter  Tropfen  hoehlt  den  Stein." 

I  therefore  requested  Baron  Schlippenbach  who  was  then  the 
Russian  Consul  at  Chicago,  to  arrange  if  possible,  an  interview 
with  the  Russian  envoy,  in  order  that  we  might  again  present 
through  him,  to  the  Russian  Government,  our  grievances. 

The  Baron  kindly  undertook  the  task,  and  on  August  2,  1905, 
wired  me  from  New  York,  as  follows : 

"You  and  party  will  be  received  with  pleasure.  At  your  arrival  will 
appoint  time.  I  think  Friday  evening,  after  the  return  from  Presidential 
call." 

8 


2095192 


On  August  3, 1  wired  to  Messrs.  Jacob  H.  Schiff,  Oscar  Strauss, 
Simon  Wolf,  Julius  Bien  and  J.  B.  Klein,  requesting  them  to 
meet  me  in  New  York  on  the  Friday  following,  for  the  purpose 
of  calling  on  M.  de  Witte.  On  the  day  appointed,  Baron 
Schlippenbach  and  Mr.  Gregory  Wilenkin,  the  latter  a  financial 
agent  of  the  Eussian  government  and  official  interpreter  to  M. 
de  Witte,  called  to  see  me  at  the  hotel  in  New  York,  and  when 
it  was  ascertained  that  the  gentlemen  to  whom  I  had  wired,  with 
the  exception  of  Bro.  Klein,  were  unable  to  meet  us  in  New 
York,  it  was  agreed  we  should  be  notified  of  a  later  time  when 
M.  de  Witte  would  meet  us.  The  meeting  took  place  at  Ports- 
mouth, on  August  14,  1905.  There  were  present  at  that  inter- 
view, Count  Witte,  Baron  Rosen,  Russian  Ambassador,  and  Mr. 
Gregory  Wilenkm  as  official  interpreter,  on  the  one  side,  and 
Messrs.  Schiff,  Strauss,  Seligman,  Lewisohn  and  myself  on  the 
other.  Mr.  Wilenkin  is  a  Russian  Jew. 

The  conference  lasted  for  several  hours  and  the  subject  matter 
thereof  in  its  various  phases,  was  thoroughly  discussed. 

Opinions  as  to  Count  Witte  may  differ.  I  am  free  to  state 
that  he  made  a  very  favorable  impression  on  me. 

Subsequent  events  proved  that  our  efforts,  like  the  Kishinef! 
petition,  were  of  little  benefit  to  our  people,  excepting  in  so  far 
as  they  may  have  constituted  a  link  in  the  chain  of  events  which 
must  ultimately,  even  in  Russia,  end  in  liberty  of  conscience  for 
our  people.  But  1  will  say  without  hesitation,  it  is  my  belief 
that  if  Count  Witte  could  have  prevented  the  subsequent  ma&- 
eacres,  they  would  not  have  taken  place. 

Our  efforts  on  behalf  of  the  Russian  Jews  were  gratefully 
recognized  by  what  might  be  termed  the  older  generation  of 
Russian  Jews  in  this  country,  but  not  so  by  some  of  the  younger 
element  which  looked  for  the  salvation  of  the  Jews  of  Russia  by 
means  of  a  revolution.  Our  action  was  denounced  by  them  in 
fiery  speeches.  They  wanted  to  know  by  what  right  we  inter- 
fered. They  expected  to  gain  their  rights  through  revolution 
and  the  Duma,  and  not  through  means  which  suggested  to  them 
the  bowed  head  and  the  bended  back. 


Nearly  five  years  have  gone  by  since  then.  The  revolution. 
if  it  is  revolving  at  all,  is  doing  so  in  discreet  but  ineffectual 
silence,  and  the  Duma  continues  to  do  the  will  of  the  Czar. 

Those  who  know  the  gentlemen  who  were  present  at  that  in- 
terview, know  well,  that  none  of  them  went  there  with  bowed 
heads  or  bended  backs,  but  spoke  in  a  manly  way,  as  citizens 
of  one  country  to  the  representative  of  another.  Not  one  of  them 
has  seen  fit  to  pay  any  attention  to  the  clamor  made  by  the  mis- 
guided young  men  against  their  action,  and  it  is  with  some  hesi- 
tation that  I  at  this  late  day  refer  to  anything  that  was  said. 
Yet  in  view  of  the  fact  that  I  instigated  the  meeting,  I  think 
it  is  due  to  the  other  gentlemen  to  say,  that  no  manifestations 
of  humility  were  indulged  in  by  any  of  them.  If  anything, 
the  Conference  at  times  took  almost  an  extreme  opposite 
direction.  To  illustrate :  Mr.  Schiff  at  one  time  turned  to  M.  de 
Witte,  now  Count  Witte,  with  the  following  question :  "Will  you 
please  tell  me  why  you  as  a  Eussian  have  all  the  rights  in  that 
country  which  are  given  to  any  one,  and  why  this  man  (pointing 
to  Mr.  Wilenkin),  has  no  rights  whatsoever?  Is  it  because  you 
as  a  man  are  a  better  man  than  he  ?" 

At  the  interview  Count  Witte  informed  us  that  it  was  the  in- 
tention of  the  Government  to  grant  a  National  Assembly  to 
which  the  Jews  would  have  a  right  to  elect  and  be  elected.  That 
was  the  first  information  received  in  this  country  of  the  then  in- 
tention of  the  Russian  Government  in  that  regard. 

Although  great  relief  was  expected  from  this  National  Assem- 
bly, none  came.  The  historical  facts  concerning  this  so-called 
National  Assembly  need  not  be  here  dwelt  upon. 

On  my  return  home  from  Portsmouth,  I  received  the  follow- 
ing letter : 

' '  NEW  CASTLE,  N.  H.,  August  17,  1905. 

' '  Dear  Mr.  Kraus :  I  am  officially  instructed  by  his  Excellency,  Mon. 
de  Witte,  to  inform  you  and  the  gentlemen  who  met  him  with  you,  that 
after  your  departure  he  cabled  to  St.  Petersburg  in  order  to  inquire 
whether  any  changes  were  made  in  connection  with  the  articles  concerning 
'the  rights  of  the  Jews  to  elect  and  be  elected  in  the  proposed  National 
Assembly.'  His  Excellency  received  by  cable  answer  that  no  changes 

5 


took  place  and  that  the  project  is  approved  by  his  Majesty,  the  Emperor 
of  Russia,  and  will  be  published  very  shortly.  Therefore  this  cable  con- 
firms Mon.  Witte's  statement  that  the  Jews  will  have  the  same  right  as 
the  rest  of  the  population  to  elect  and  be  elected  in  the  National 
Assembly.  I  remain, 

"Sincerely  yours, 

"GREGORY  WILENKIN." 

That  appeared  very  encouraging.  The  Peace  Conference  be- 
tween Russia  and  Japan  was  signed.  M.  de  Witte  returned  home 
and  was  honored  by  the  czar,  who  conferred  the  title  of  Count 
upon  him  and  appointed  him  Premier. 

Revolutionists  kept  the  Government  busy  for  a  while,  and  the 
terrible  massacres  of  that  year  took  place,  instigated,  according 
to  general  belief,  by  government  officials.  The  civilized  world 
was  horrified,  but  the  conscience  of  the  Eussian  government  was 
not  awakened.  The  horrible  deeds  committed  demonstrated  to 
ns  how  little  we  could  do  to  aid  our  unfortunate  brethren  in 
that  land.  I  sent  the  following  telegram : 

"CHICAGO,  November  6,  1905. 
"Jacob  H.  Schiff,  New  York: 

"It  seems  to  me  useless,  in  present  condition  of  Russia,  to  make  any 
appeals  to  that  government  or  ours  for  the  purpose  of  stopping  the  mas- 
sacres, and  that  the  only  question  to  be  considered  is,  what  can  be  done 
to  alleviate  the  Russian  Jewish  distress?  Do  you  agree  with  me?  If 
not,  please  give  me  your  views.  If  you  do  agree  with  me,  shall  I  invite 
all  National  Jewish  Organizations  in  this  land  to  co-operate  in  a  general 
appeal  for  funds?  If  you  think  this  is  right,  will  you  act  as  National 
Treasurer?  Please  wire. 

"ADOLF  KRAUS.  " 

Failing  to  receive  an  answer  that  day  from  Mr.  Schiff,  on  the 
following  day  I  wired  to  the  Presidents  of  each  of  the  National 
Jewish  Organizations  for  consent  to  attach  their  names  to  an  ap- 
peal for  funds.  Consent  was  promptly  received  on  the  same  day. 
On  November  8,  I  sent  the  following  appeal  by  wire,  and  it  was 
published  by  the  Associated  Press: 

"The  victims  of  the  awful  riots  and  massacres  in  Russia  are  not  all 
numbered  with  the  dead.  The  living,  starving  survivors  who  have  lost 
their  bread-winners,  and  the  maimed,  mutely  appeal  to  a  pitying  world 


for  aid.  Therefore  each  community  is  hereby  requested  to  organize  at 
once  and  without  further  notice,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds  to  aid 
these  destitute  living  victims.  Funds,  when  collected,  may  be  forwarded 
to  Mr.  Jacob  H.  Schiff,  of  New  York,  for  proper  distribution. ' ' 

ADOLF  KRAUS, 
President  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith. 

SAMUEL  WOOLNEB, 
President  of  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations. 

MRS.  HENRY  SOLOMON, 
President  Council  of  Jewish  Women. 

DR.  H.  PEREIRA  MENDES, 

President  of  Union  vf  Orthodox  Jewish  Congregations  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada. 

DR.  JOSEPH  STOLZ, 
President  of  Central  Conference  of  American  Rabbis. 

DR.  HARRY  FRIEDENWALD, 
President  of  Federation  of  American  Zionists* 

MAX  STERN, 
Grand  Master  Independent  Order  B'rith  Abraham. 

SAM  DEL  DORF, 

Grand  Master  Order  B'rith  Abraham. 

On  November  7  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  city  of  New  York 
at  which  Mr.  Schiff  was  elected  treasurer,  to  receive  the  contri- 
butions. The  organization  there  formed,  sent  out  an  appeal  for 
funds  about  the  same  time  that  our  appeal  was  issued.  There 
was  collected  by  the  Order  in  the  seven  American  districts,  the 
sum  of  $44,143.97,  which  was  forwarded  to  Mr.  Schiff.  This 
does  not  include  the  personal  contributions  of  members  to  the 
local  committees  in  the  different  cities,  which  no  doubt  exceed 
the  contributions  made  through  the  Order  by  a  very  large  sum. 
Money  was  raised  also  among  the  Jews  in  all  lands,  to  alleviate 
the  suffering  of  our  co-religionists  in  Russia,  in  so  far  as  money 
could  do  it. 

As  to  the  responsibility  for  the  murders,  robberies,  and  in- 
human and  unmentionable  crimes  committed  against  the  Jews 
of  that  land,  it  may  perhaps  be  sufficient  to  say  that  the  Govern- 
ment in  Russia  has  full  control  over  the  press  in  that  country 
and  can  suppress  and  does  suppress  any  newspaper  which  pub- 
lishes anything  not  satisfactory  to  the  government;  and  yet  the 


anti-semitic  press  of  that  land  freely  and  without  any  punish- 
ment invited  the  people  to  commit  those  crimes.  The  same  press 
threatened  a  new  massacre  for  Easter,  1906.  Judging  from  the 
past,  I  could  not  help  but  believe  that,  if  precautions  were  not 
taken  against  it,  another  massacre  would  take  place  at  Easter, 
and  so  on  February  15,  1906,  I  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
Count  deWitte: 

' '  CHICAGO,  February  15,  1906. 

' '  Count  de  Witte,  St.  Petersburg,  Russia. 

1 '  YOUR  EXCELLENCY  :  You  will  doubtless  remember  the  interview  held 
in  Portsmouth  between  yourself,  Messrs.  Schiff,  Seligman,  Strauss, 
Lewisohn  and  myself.  And  when  in  the  city  of  New  York  three  of  us 
bid  you  a  safe  return  to  your  home,  you  stated  that  we  might  write  you 
at  any  time  on  the  subject  of  our  previous  discussion.  Accordingly,  I 
now  avail  myself  of  the  permission  so  kindly  given. 

' '  It  is  useless  to  dwell  at  any  length  on  the  terrible  massacres  of  Jew§ 
in  Russia,  for  the  details  are  much  better  known  to  you  than  to  me. 
Your  Excellency  will  perhaps  remember  my  suggestion  that  if  those  who 
eo  wantonly  massacred  the  Jews,  or  aided  and  abetted  in  the  murders, 
were  swiftly  and  adequately  punished,  it  would  be  such  a  warning  to 
others,  and  such  a  clear  declaration  as  to  the  position  of  the  government 
as  would  tend  to  diminish  greatly  the  probability  of  a  repetition  of  the 
horrors.  That  we  have  not  read  of  any  strong  measures  taken  to  punish 
the  perpetrators  of  the  late  crimes,  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
government  felt  its  first  duty  was  to  subdue  the  riots,  or  it  may  be  due  to 
the  insufficiency  of  the  information  which  the  press  has  been  able  to  ob- 
tain. But,  whatever  the  cause,  the  fact  has  caused  widespread  alarm  in 
this  country  that  the  massacre  of  Jews  in  Eussia  is  to  continue,  and  the 
opinion  is  becoming  prevalent  that  no  Jew's  life  is  safe  in  that  great 
country.  As  a  result  of  the  growing  opinion  that  if  the  lives  and  prop- 
erty of  Jews  are  not  to  be  safeguarded  in  the  land  in  which  their  an- 
cestors have  lived  for  generations,  and  of  which  your  Excellency  is  Prime 
Minister,  a  movement  is  being  seriously  contemplated,  if  it  can  be  ac- 
complished according  to  law,  for  the  removal  of  the  Jews  from  Eussia, 
or  at  least  of  as  many  as  possible,  to  other  lands  where  they  will  be  per- 
mitted to  die  a  natural  death.  If  the  plans  for  such  a  movement  are 
put  into  effect,  the  Society  over  which  I  preside  will  take  an  active  part. 
The  immensity  of  such  an  undertaking  is  fully  realized  and  it  should 
be  executed  only  s\s  a  last  resort. 

8 


"I  am,  therefore,  emboldened  to  address  myself  to  you  for  the  in- 
formation upon  which  our  action  may  depend,  if  it  will  be  deemed  proper 
in  your  Excellency 's  judgment,  that  such  information  should  be  given,  and 
it  is  this:  Now,  since  it  appears  that  the  government  has  restored  peace 
in  its  land,  is  the  government  in  position  to  protect  the  lives  and  prop- 
erty of  Jews,  equally  with  that  of  the  Christians,  and  to  punish  officials, 
who  fail  to  do  their  duty  in  not  taking  the  proper  measures  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Jews,  so  as  to  prevent  further  massacres! 

"I  desire  to  avoid,  by  the  question  I  have  asked,  any  offense  to 
your  Excellency,  for  it  must  be  taken  for  granted  that  it  is  the  intention 
of  the  government  to  protect  the  lives  of  all  of  its  subjects.  My  apology 
for  the  inquiry  is  the  fact  that  Jews  have  been  massacred  in  the  past 
in  your  land,  and  that  reports  are  now  published  in  the  newspapers  here 
that  it  is  contemplated  to  have  the  greatest  massacre  of  Jews  in  your 
land  at  Easter  time  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  that  it  is  generally 
believed  that  unless  the  government  is  in  position  to  stretch  out  its 
mighty  arm  and  to  fully  protect  the  Jews,  the  Jews  in  Russia  are 
doomed. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  remain, 

"With  respect, 

"ADOLF  KBAUS, 
"President  Executive  Committee  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith." 

On  March  14th  following,  I  received  the  following  cable  from 
St.  Petersburg: 

"Adolf  Eraus: 

"1  am  sure  you  have  no  doubts  that  I  cannot  approve  violence,  no 
matter  against  whom  it  is  directed.  The  deplorable  events  which  have 
taken  place  were  the  result  of  riots.  You  may  be  persuaded  Government 
will  use  all  possible  measures  to  prevent  violence  against  peaceable  in- 
habitants, without  regard  to  what  nationality  they  belong. 

"COUNT  WITTE." 

The  following  day  the  Associated  Press  published  a  dispatch 
from  St.  Petersburg  to  the  effect  that  the  Czar  was  reported  to 
have  been  shocked  and  amazed  at  the  revelations  of  Jewish  op- 
pression made  to  him,  and  as  a  result  Premier  de  Witte  was 
able  to  force  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Duronovo,  to  issue  in- 
structions to  prevent  further  massacres  of  the  Jews,  and  to  prose- 
cute all  persons  guilty  of  instigating  them. 


On  March  16th  I  cabled  to  Count  Witte  thanks  for  his  cable 
of  March  14th  and  stated  that  unless  instructed  to  the  contrary, 
I  would  publish  his  cablegram.  On  the  17th,  the  correspondence 
was  published.  There  was  no  blood  shed  on  Eussian  Easter. 

On  April  25th  the  Chicago  Daily  News  published  the  follow- 
ing cable  from  its  correspondent  in  St.  Petersburg: 

"The  publication  of  a  letter  written  by  Adolf  Kraus,  of  Chicago, 
and  Premier  Witte 's  reply  thereto  has  caused  a  sensation  in  Bussia. 
The  entire  press  recognizes  the  Chicagoan'g  communication  as  states- 
manlike and  humane. ' ' 

"A  gentleman  who  is  prominent  in  Jewish  circles  and  is  a  member- 
elect  of  the  first  Douma,  which  is  soon  to  assemble,  said  to  the  Daily 
News  correspondent  to-day:  'Mr.  Kraus'  letter  was  timely,  in  that  it 
induced  the  authorities  to  take  measures  for  saving  the  lives  and  prop- 
erty of  Jews  in  Eussia.'  " 

Favorable  comments  upon  the  action  were  published  in  most 
of  the  European  papers.  Since  then  Premier  Witte  has  been 
removed  from  office.  Whatever  opinion  our  people  may  have  of 
Count  Witte  I  am  confident  that  nothing  was  gained  for  human- 
ity by  his  removal  from  office. 

Shortly  after  the  massacres  took  place,  a  movement  was  started 
in  this  country  to  raise  a  fund  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the 
Jews  of  Eussia  to  buy  weapons  to  defend  themselves  against  at- 
tacks and  to  sell  their  lives,  when  attacked,  as  dearly  as  possible. 
That  movement  found  many  sympathizers,  for  there  is  an  inher- 
ent desire  in  all  men  to  give  an  opportunity  to  those  attacked  to 
defend  themselves. 

The  question  was  presented  to  your  Executive  Committee  for 
action,  and  after  a  careful  consideration,  the  following  resolutien 
was  unanimously  adopted : 

"We  condemn  and  denounce  the  atrocities  and  outrages  com- 
mitted upon  our  unfortunate  co-religionists  in  Eussia,  and  pledge 
our  best  efforts  to  promote  all  legitimate  measures  for  their  re- 
lief. We,  however,  favor  only  the  employment  of  moral  forces 
and  legal  instrumentalities,  and  discountenance  any  organized 
effort  upon  the  part  of  our  co-religionists  outside  of  Eussia,  which 

10 


would  directly  or  indirectly  tend  to  aggravate  the  present  dis- 
orders of  that  country." 

That  this  position  of  the  Executive  Committee  was  sound, 
was  subsequently  demonstrated  when  the  government  of  Eussia 
caused  the  houses  and  synagogues  of  our  co-religionists  to  be 
searched,  and  finding  some  guns  and  ammunition,  confiscated 
the  same  and  used  that  fact  as  an  argument  against  granting 
just  laws  to  our  people,  claiming  that  the  arms  and  ammunition 
found  was  evidence  of  their  revolutionary  tendencies. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  Pogrom  was  that  many  children 
were  made  orphans.  To  the  credit  of  the  Jews  everywhere  be  it 
said  that  every  community  was  willing  to  take  care  of  some  of 
them.  Our  Government  kindly  consented  to  allow  the  Pogrom 
orphans  to  be  landed.  The  lodges  were  more  than  willing  to 
take  care  of  the  orphans.  Arrangements  were  made  in  different 
cities  to  find  homes  for  those  unfortunate  children.  But  the 
lodges  in  the  American  Districts  were  not  given  a  chance  to  take 
care  of  them,  as  it  was  found  that  their  services  in  that  regard 
were  not  needed.  The  children  were  promptly  taken  care  of. 

In  visiting  the  Orphan  Home  in  Hamburg,  maintained  by 
the  local  lodge  there,  I  saw  the  brethren  point  with  pride  and 
affection  to  two  of  the  Pogrom  boys  in  that  Home — the  only 
two  boys  assigned  to  that  city.  They  stood  first  and  second  in 
their  classes. 

In  this  connection  extract  from  the  report  of  the  B'nai  B'rith 
Grand  Lodge  of  Germany  is  of  interest.  It  reads  as  follows : 

Of  the  120  Pogrom-orphans  who  had  to  be  taken  to  a  new  home,  53 
found  loving  shelter  in  southern  and  westera  Germany,  through  the  in- 
tervention of  the  Grand  Lodge,  while  five  other  orphans  were  placed  in 
Ahlem,  by  the  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle.  The  rest  came  to  America. 

In  order  that  these  children,  who  were  bereft  of  their  parents,  should 
not  find  themselves  as  utter  strangers  in  the  new  home,  heed  was  taken 
at  the  assignment  that  brothers  and  sisters  should  be  placed,  if  pos- 
sible, in  one  and  the  same  city,  or  at  least  near  one  another.  In  this 
considerate  manner  family  ties  were  kept  intact,  as  much  as  the  existicg 
conditions  would  permit.  So  were  six  children  o.f  one  family  from 

11 


Byalistok,  the  youngest  of  whom  was  one  year  old,  all  placed  in  Frank* 
furt  o.  t.  M.,  another  six  brothers  and  sisters  from.  Byalistok,  in  Ahlem, 
and  four  brothers  and  sisters,  from  Ekaterinoslav,  in  Ihringer,  a  small 
provincial  town  on  the  Kaiserstuhl.  And  not  only  the  tender  family 
ties  were  considered,  but  also  in  regard  to  religion  the  wishes  of  the  rela- 
tives were  respected  as  much  as  possible. 

Naturally  our  work  for  and  our  interest  in  these  children  has  not 
ceased  with  having  placed  them.  They  are  still  continually  under  the 
protection  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  For  the  Conference  at  Frankfurt  o.  t. 
M.,  held  on  the  4th  and  5th  of  January,  1906,  has  bestowed  the  honor- 
able duty  upon  the  Grand  Lodge  to  watch  over  the  present  prosperity 
and  the  future  fate  of  these  orphans.  For  this  purpose  the  Grand 
Lodge  has  aranged  record  books  wherein  everything  concerning  the  chil- 
dren placed  in  Germany  is  recorded,  and  has  appointed  correspondents  in 
the  places  of  the  asylums,  who  submit  reports  to  it  at  least  once  a  year, 
regarding  the  physical  and  mental  development  of  the  children.  The 
reports  received  up  to  date  are  very  favorable.  On  all  sides  the  facts 
are  emphasized  that  the  children  have  speedily  adapted  themselves  to 
their  new  surroundings  and  have  made  remarkable  progress  in  German; 
that  by  their  conduct  at  home  they  have  given  no  cause  for  complaint 
to  their  foster  parents  and  in  school  they  are  praised  by  the  teachers 
for  application  and  ability.  * 

Thanks  to  the  efforts  of  the  Lodges  one  of  the  present  Pogrom  or- 
phans, a  charming  little  girl,  Marika  the  nameless,  three  years  old,  was 
taken  in  charge  by  a  childless  married  couple  and  later,  when  the  girl 
will  reach  legal  age,  she  may  be  adopted.  The  rest  of  the  children  are 
placed  in  Altona,  Breslaw,  Koeln  (Aix-la-Chapelle),  Dortmund,  Leipzig, 
Magdebug,  Eybnick  and  Wisbaden.  *  *  *  * 

There  is  a  saying  of  our  old  teachers  which  reads  as  follows:  "To 
him  who  begins  a  good  work  should  be  said,  '  Carry  it  to  an  end. '  "  At 
the  Conference  at  Frankfurt  we  were  entrusted  by  the  respectiye  or- 
ganizations with  the  care  of  the  Pogrom  orphans.  Two  years  Bgo  we 
succeeded  in  providing  for  53  children;  we  will  now  do  the  same  with 
equal  zeal  for  the  still  remaining  12  children. 

In  its  report  of  1907,  page  100,  the  Hilfsverein  expresses  itself  in  the 
following  manner  regarding  our  relief  work  for  the  Russian  orphans: 
"The  greatest  part  of  the  children,  nearly  one-half  of  all  the  orphan 
children,  58  in  number,  were  placed  in  Germany.  Thanks  to  the  en- 
compassing care  of  the  Grand  Lodge  for  Germany,  it  became  possible 
to  find  places  of  shelter  for  all  these  good  children.  All  the  individual 
lodges  supported  the  Grand  Lodge  most  zealously  in  its  endeavor  to 
create  good  shelters  for  the  children.  They  are  also  well  cared  for  by  a 
number  of  Jewish  communities,  especially  by  Frankfort  o.  t.  M.,  in 

12 


which  city  alone  12  Russian  orphans  are  receiving  the  best  of  care. 


On  Sept.  21,  1909,  the  press  published  that  a  great  massacre 
of  Jews  had  taken  place  at  Kiev.  We  acted  promptly.  The  fol- 
lowing telegrams  need  no  explanation: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Sept.  21,  1909. 
Adolf  Kraus,  Chicago. 

Washington  papers  report  massacre  at  Kiev  Russia.  Suggest  that  you 
cable  Berlin  and  keep  me  advised.  SIMON  WOLF. 

CHICAGO,  Sept.  22,  1909. 
Justizrat  Timendorfer,  Berlin. 

Newspapers  report  great  massacre  Kiev.  Consult  Hilfsverein,  cable 
me  whether  massacre  authentic,  whether  American  help  needed. 

KRAUS. 

WASHINGTON,  Sept.  22,  1909. 
Adolf  Kraus,  Chicago. 

Renewed  cablegrams  from  Berlin  reaffirm  yesterday's  statement  State 
Department  at  my  request  representing  Union  and  Order  cabled  Rock- 
hill  at  St.  Petersburg  secure  confirmatory  news.  Will  keep  you  advised. 

SIMON  WOLF. 

BERLIN,  Sept.  23,  1909. 
Kraus,  Chicago. 

Auf  unserer  Veranlassung  hat  Hilfsverein  in  Kiev  angefragt  und 
drei  Antworten  erhalten  dass  nichts  daran  ist.  WOLFF. 

The  Berlin  representative  of  the  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle  wired; 

BERLIN,  Sept.  23,  1909. 
Kraus,  Chicago. 

Kiev  keine  Stoerungen  vorgekommen.  KLAUSNER. 

CHICAGO,  Sept.  23,  1909. 
Simon  Wolf,  Washington. 

Hilfsverein  cables  Kiev  keine  Stoerungen  vorgekommen. 

KRAUS. 

13 


WASHINGTON,  Sept.  23,  1909. 
Kraus,  Chicago. 

State  Department  says  important  demonstrations  in  suburb  of  Kiev 
on  eighth  of  September  which  the  police  quickly  suppressed.  No  Ameri- 
cans killed  or  anyone  else  seriously  injured.  SIMON  WOLT. 

IMMIGEATION. 

One  of  the  natural  results  of  the  Pogroms  was  a  large  emi- 
gration of  the  persecuted  Jews  to  other  lands,  principally  to  this 
country.  With  the  large  immigration,  new  problems  have  arisen 
and  will  from  time  to  time  arise,  but  which  will  in  due  course 
of  time,  as  the  immigrants  become  assimilated,  be  properly 
solved  to  their  welfare,  as  well  as  to  the  welfare  of  our  country. 

There  are  among  all  classes  of  men,  narrow-minded  individu- 
als who,  enjoying  the  rights  of  freedom  under  a  just  government, 
are  not  willing  that  others  should  have  equal  opportunities. 
Some  of  them  are  actuated  by  selfish  motives,  others  by  what 
they  term  patriotic  motives,  but  in  each  case  the  motive  is  ill- 
considered. 

Among  those  who  may  be  considered  well-meaning  but  ill- 
advised,  are  those  who,  while  claiming  to  aim  to  exclude  the  for- 
eign criminal,  favor  immigration  laws  so  strict  that  they  would 
also  make  the  landing  upon  our  hospitable  shores,  of  law  abiding 
people,  who  are  fleeing  from  persecution,  impossible.  This  coun- 
try always  has  been  and  always  should  remain  the  haven  of  the 
oppressed  and  persecuted,  but  it  ought  not  to  be  the  "holy  of 
holies"  to  which  the  criminals  of  other  lands  can  flee  and  find 
refuge.  Any  restrictive  law  which  will  keep  out  of  this  land  the 
criminals  of  other  lands,  idiots,  insane  persons,  paupers,  persons 
afflicted  with  a  loathsome  or  dangerous  contagious  disease,  an- 
archists, or  persons  coming  here  for  immoral  purposes  will  meet 
with  the  hearty  approval  of  all  of  us,  but  laws  which  are  cal- 
culated to  keep  out  of  this  country  healthy  immigrants,  of  good 
moral  character,  simply  because  they  have  not  a  certain  amount 
of  capital  are  contrary  to  the  spirit  and  traditions  of  our  coun- 
try. The  so-called  Dillingham-Gardner  Immigration  Bill  more 

14 


fully  referred  to  in  our  Report  of  1906-7  was  one  which  con- 
tained many  objectionable  features. 

Reports  from  Washington  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  bill 
was  about  to  become  a  law.  I  wired  the  American  districts  of  the 
Order  to  obtain  from  their  leading  citizens,  regardless  of  creed, 
their  views  upon  the  pending  bill  and  have  them  wired  to  their 
respective  Congressmen.  Protests  against  the  bill  poured  in  so 
rapidly  to  Washington  that  the  pending  bill  was  defeated.  The 
Liberal  Immigration  League  of  which  our  distinguished  mem- 
ber, Edward  Lauterbach,  Esq.,  is  President,  in  their  annual  re- 
port, generously  gave  much  credit  to  our  Order  for  the  defeat 
of  that  bill. 

One  of  the  problems  which  we  have  to  contend  with,  arising 
out  of  the  great  immigration,  is  what  to  do  with  the  unfortunates 
who  are  not  classed  as  undesirables  and  yet  are  ordered  de- 
ported by  the  Government.  It  often  happens  that  certain  mem- 
bers of  a  family  are  admitted,  while-  others  are  refused  admission. 
The  feelings  of  the  members  of  the  family  thus  severed  can  easily 
be  imagined.  Many  of  the  orders  of  deportation  are  based  on 
the  theory  that  the  person  ordered  deported  may  become  a  pub- 
lic charge,  owing  to  feeble  health  or  advanced  age.  This  objec- 
tion may  be  overcome  if  proper  security  be  given  to  the  Govern- 
ment that  such  person  will  not  become  a  public  charge. 

We  have  undertaken  to  protect  as  far  as  it  is  in  our  power 
desirable  immigrants  who,  without  such  protection,  would  be 
sent  back  to  endure  new  miseries  and  hardships.  In  this  work 
Bro.  Simon  Wolf  has  rendered  the  Order  and  humanity  great 
service.  In  the  last  two  years  he  perfected  appeals  in  95  cases 
of  immigrants,  affecting  213  persons,  who  intended  to  come  to 
Chicago,  but  were  ordered  deported,  and  in  76  of  those  cases,  af- 
fecting 173  persons,  he  succeeded  in  having  the  judgment  of  the 
lower  Tribunal  reversed  and  the  immigrants  were  permitted  to 
land.  In  one  case,  the  order  permitting  an  immigrant  to  land 
came  from  Washington  after  the  steamship  on  which  the  immi- 
grant was,  had  started  on  the  return  European  trip.  A  Revenue 

15 


Cutter  chased  the  steamer,  caught  up  with  it  and  took  off  the 
immigrant,  and  he  was  landed.  The  happiness  of  that  man, 
after  landing  on  American  soil  where  all  his  children  reside 
must  be  to  Brother  Wolf  a  great  recompense  for  his  arduous 
labor  on  behalf  of  the  immigrants. 

One  of  the  well  recognized  problems  arising  out  of  the  immi- 
gration question  is  how  best  to  remove  the  immigrants  from  the 
large  centers  of  population  in  order  to  avoid  over-crowding, 
and  enable  the  new  arrivals  to  get  a  good  start  in  life.  This  work 
was  originally  undertaken  by  the  Order  under  the  leadership 
of  the  lamented  Leo  N.  Levi,  who,  through  the  lodges  in  the 
cities  in  the  West  and  South,  established  committees  to  take  care 
of  the  immigrants.  The  names  of  the  persons  constituting  these 
committees  were  transferred  to  the  New  York  Industrial  Ee- 
moval  Office,  under  whose  auspices  the  bulk  of  the  removal  work 
is  now  done.  The  removal  office  forms  no  part  of  the  machinery 
of  the  Order.  However,  the  lodges,  whenever  called  upon,  have 
always  cheerfully  aided  the  removal  committee,  and  in  many 
cities  the  work  of  taking  care  of  immigrants  is  almost  exclusively 
in  the  hands  of  members  of  the  Order. 

This  problem,  what  to  do  with  the  newly  arrived  immigrants, 
is  of  such  increasingly  serious  importance  as  to  commend  itself 
to  the  earnest  consideration  of  the  convention.  The  constant  ac- 
cretions to  the  already  badly  congested  districts  in  the  seaport 
towns,  towards  which  these  immigrants  are  naturally  drawn, 
makes  a  continuous  and  more  difficult  problem  of  that  which 
might  otherwise,  in  the  efflux  of  time  find  its  own  solution.  Some- 
thing should  be  done  to  distribute  these  immigrants  before  they 
become  permanently  settled  in  such  districts.  I  recommend  that 
the  matter  be  referred  to  a  committee  to  consider,  and  if  possible, 

16 


formulate  some  practicable  plan  whereby  this  desirable  result 
may  in  some  measure  be  attained. 

CONFERENCE  OF  ORGANIZATIONS. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  Pogroms  was  an  agitation  favoring 
the  creation  of  some  organization  to  represent,  speak  and  act  on 
behalf  of  the  Jews  of  this  country.  Those  who  were  loudest  in 
demanding  the  creation  of  such  an  organization,  would,  under 
normal  conditions,  have  been  the  first  to  denounce  the  move- 
ment; but  in  the  very  helplessness  of  our  people  against  the 
desperate  condition  of  our  persecuted  brethren,  any  movement 
which  might  have  given  the  remotest  chance  for  relief,  was  ea- 
gerly grasped  at,  and  consequently  the  idea  of  creating  such  a 
body  was  given  serious  consideration.  In  the  opinion  of  your 
Executive  Committee,  it  was  not  deemed  necessary  that  such  a 
body  be  created.  Later  when  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Or- 
der met  in  Chicago,  other  organizations  were  invited  by  wire  to 
meet  with  them;  and  on  December  17,  1905,  representatives  of 
the  following  organizations  presented  themselves  at  the  Con- 
ference : 

Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith. 
Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations. 
Central  Conference  of  American  Rabbis. 
Federation  of  American  Zionists. 
Order  B'rith  Abraham. 
Independent  Order  Free  Sons  of  Israel. 
Sons  of  Benjamin. 

National  Conference  of  Jewish  Charities. 
National  Russian  Relief  Association. 
Industrial  Removal  Office. 
Chicago  Russian  Jewish  Press. 
Independent  Western  Star  Order. 
17 


At  that  meeting  the  following  resolution  was  adopted : 

"Resolved,  that  we  are  opposed  to  any  amendment  of  the  law 
which  shall  increase  the  head  tax  on  immigrants." 

The  following  was  also  adopted : 

"Kepresentatives  of  National  Jewish  Organizations  convened 
for  conference  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  stirred  by  horror  at  the 
massacres  in  Russia,  are  convinced  that  if  the  humane  sentiments 
of  sympathy  which  actuate  the  hearts  of  all  men  without  distinc- 
tion of  creed  or  nation,  were  expressed  as  it  should  be  and  as  it 
has  not  as  yet  been  adequately  expressed,  such  outrageous  mur- 
ders and  persecutions  would  soon  come  to  an  end.  We  call  upon 
all  who  deplore  these  inhumanities  to  make  their  sympathy  ef- 
fective by  urging  those  in  influence  and  authority  in  Church  and 
State  to  bring  about  concerted  action  by  the  nations  to  declare 
such  atrocities  as  have  been  perpetrated  upon  the  Jews  in  Rus- 
sia to  be  violations  of  the  principles  upon  which  the  intercourse 
of  the  nations  is  founded.  They  are  contrary  to  the  law  of  God 
and  man  as  interpreted  by  the  teachings  of  Religion,  and  as 
rooted  in  the  moral  consciousness  of  this  enlightened  twentieth 
century." 

Resolutions  were  also  unanimously  passed,  thanking  the  Exec- 
utive Committee  of  the  B'nai  B'rith  for  calling  the  conference. 

By  this  meeting  it  was  demonstrated  how  easily  and  quickly 
united  action  could  be  obtained  by  existing  organizations  and 
therefore  it  was  believed  that  the  clamor  for  a  new  organization 
would  cease.  It  was  also  believed  that  the  creation  of  a  new  body 
would  lead  to  duplication  and  therefore  to  waste  of  energy ;  that 
to  unite  existing  organizations  for  prompt  action  on  behalf  of 
our  persecuted  brothers  in  foreign  lands  was  commendable,  but  to 
create  a  new  body  "to  promote  the  welfare  of  Judaism"  and  to 
speak  for  American  Jewry  would  be  not  only  inexcusable,  but  dan- 
gerous; that  in  short,  American  Jews  needed  no  organization  to 
speak  for  all  of  them.  It  was  found  however  that  the  agitation  for 
the  creation  of  a  new  body  did  not  cease.  The  question  was  once 

18 


more  presented  to  the  Executive  Committee  and  by  it  considered, 
and  the  following  resolution  was  adopted : 

"Be  it  Resolved,  that  the  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith 
while  rigidly  maintaining  its  separate  identity  in  the  fulfillment 
of  the  tasks  it  has  undertaken,  nevertheless,  stands  ready  to  co- 
operate temporarily  in  all  critical  emergencies  with  other  recog- 
nized Jewish  organizations  for  the  achievement  of  immediate  re- 
sults in  matters  affecting  the  Jewish  cause.  At  the  same  time, 
this  Executive  Committee  deems  it  antagonistic  to  the  principles 
of  the  Order  and  subversive  of  its  mission  to  enter  into  any 
permanent  alliance  or  federation  with  other  institutions  limited 
in  their  scope  and  lacking  the  universality  which  has  ever  char- 
acterized the  B'nai  B'rith." 

"While  in  Europe,  I  made  arrangements  with  the  leading  Jew- 
ish organizations  of  England,  Germany,  France  and  Austria 
for  the  prompt  mutual  furnishing  by  cable  of  any  information 
required ;  and  they  will  advise  us  as  to  any  matter  in  which  our 
assistance  may  be  required. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  state  that  while  we  are  here  in  session, 
an  International  Conference  is  being  held  in  the  city  of  London 
to  determine  the  best  means  of  combating  the  White  Slave  Traf- 
fic. To  that  Conference  we  were  invited,  and  we  have  a  repre- 
sentative there  in  attendance. 

SAN  FRANCISCO  DISASTER. 

On  April  18,  1906,  the  city  of  San  Francisco  was  visited  by 
an  earthquake  of  exceptional  violence,  which  was  followed  by  a 
conflagration  lasting  about  three  days.  As  soon  as  the  news  of 
the  disaster  reached  us,  I  sent  telegrams  and  received  answers  as 

follows : 

"CHICAGO,  April  18,  1906. 
"Lucius  L,  Solomons,  508  California  Street, 

San  Francisco,  Cal.: 

"Press  brings  meager  reports  of  great  calamity  in  your  city.  Am 
ready  to  make  appeal  for  help  to  the  Order  or  all  our  people  as  may 
be  needed.  If  help  wanted  wire  as  fully  as  possible." 

"ADOLF  KBATTS." 

19 


CHICAGO,  April  19,  1906. 

(To  Each  District) : 

"Wire  forthwith  each  Jewish  community  in  your  District  to  collect 
funds  for  relief  of  sufferers  in  San  Francisco.  Such  funds  to  be  sent 
to  Treasurer  of  your  District.  As  soon  as  Belief  Committee  in  San 
Francisco  appointed  to  take  charge  of  money  will  advise  you.  You 
can  wire  at  expense  of  Executive  Committee." 

"ADOLF  KRAUS." 

"SAN  FRANCISCO,  April  21-22,  1906. 

"Adolf  Emus,  Grand  President  Const.  Grand  Lodge  B'nai  B'rith, 
4518  Drexel  Blvd.: 

"Destruction  complete,  earthquake  and  fire  destitution  among  our 
people  awful.  What  can  you  do  for  immediate  relief?  Wire  five  hun- 
dred fourteen  Devisadero  St." 

"BEN  SCHLOSS, 
"Grand  Prest." 

"CHICAGO,  April   23,  1906. 

"Ben  Schloss,  514  Devisadero  Street, 
San  Francisco,  Cal. : 

"Wired  you  appoint  yourself,  Solomons  and  Voorsanger  or  others 
as  well  known  Committee  to  distribute  funds  and  wire  me  names  and 
addresses.  Have  received  no  answer.  Wire  also  name  New  York  cor- 
respondent of  Oakland  Bank  so  money  may  be  wired  you. ' ' 

"ADOLF  KRAUS." 

"SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL.,  April  26,. 1906. 

"Adolf   Kraus,    Constitution   Grand   Prest.    Independent    Order   B'nai 
B'rith,  Chicago,  III: 

"Completely  burned  out  and  property  destroyed.  Our  members  im- 
poverished and  suffering  for  everything.  What  can  you  do?  How  much 
and  how  quick?  Answer  wire  five  fourteen  Devisadero  St. ' 

"BEN  SCHLOSS, 
' '  Grand  Prest.  District  No.  4. ' ' 

20 


"SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL.,  April  26,  1906. 
"Adolf  Kraus,  Constitution  Grand  President  Independent  Order  B'nai 

B'rith,  Chicago,  III.: 

"First  dispatch  received  from  you  this  minute.  Committee  Ben 
Schloss,  Doctor  Jacob  Voorsanger,  M.  S.  Levy,  Lucius  Solomons,  Edward 
Tauszky.  Draw  through  any  New  York  bank  on  any  San  Francisco 
bank.  Can  arrange  to  cash  credits." 

"BEN  SCHLOSS, 
"Grand  President  District  No.  4." 

We  received  and  forwarded  promptly  to  the  sufferers  the  sum 
of  $22,006.29.  This  was  a  special  fund  from  the  members  of 
the  Order  to  the  San  Francisco  members,  to  enable  such  as  needed 
the  assistance  to  begin  the  battle  of  life  anew. 

AID  TO  ROUMANIAN  SUFFERERS. 

Shortly  after  the  San  Francisco  earthquake,  a  report  reached 
us  of  the  persecution  of  Jews  in  Roumania.  I  received  from  a 
source,  unnecessary  to  mention,  but  which  I  consider  reliable,  the 
following  report: 

"In  the  beginning  of  March  of  this  year,  signs  of  an  Anti-Semitic 
movement  were  noticed  along  the  Moldavia.  The  authorities  remained 
passive  er.d  so  it  came  about  that  one  day  several  hundred  peasants 
entered  tho  little  town  of  Poduloaci  near  Jassy  and  plundered  accord- 
ing to  their  hearts'  desire.  All  stores  kept  by  Jews  were  destroyed  and 
robbed,  and  the  Jews,  including  women  and  children,  were  maltreated. 
One  Jew  received  serious  injury.  The  rioting  began  at  one  o  'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  At  three  in  the  afternoon  a  major  in  charge  of  100  men 
of  cavalry  stationed  in  the  town,  fired  three  revolver  shots  into  the  air 
and  immediately  as  though  this  had  been  a  signal  agreed  upon,  the 
plundering  stopped.  128  Jewish  families  in  that  town  suffered  3t  loss 
of  100,000  francs,  which,  considering  the  poverty  of  the  people,  was  a 
considerable  sum.  A  very  few  days  afterwards  a  similar  occurrence 
was  reported  in  the  City  of  Botosehani,  only  in  a  greater  degree.  1,159 
families  lost  their  property  amounting  to  half  a  million  francs,  21  Jews 
were  wounded  and  had  to  be  taken  to  the  hospital. 

"After  that  tha  Anti-Semitic  movement  spread  with  lightning  rapi- 
dity over  the  entire  Moldavia.  After  Botosehani,  where  the  poor  Jews, 
for  fear  of  personal  violence,  hid  in  cellars  for  two  days  and  where 
Jewish  merchants  did  not  reopen  their  stores  for  ten  days,  the  Jews 

21 


in  the  town  of  Vordugeni  were  attacked  in  which  408  Jewish  families 
suffered  the  loss  of  611,000  francs.  The  Jews  in  the  Towns  of  Buccecea 
and  Bedeni  were  attacked.  In  the  district  of  Botochani  1,8S6  Jewish 
families  were  plundered  of  property  valued  at  3,000,000  francs.  In  the 
District  of  Jassy  the  Jewish  inhabitants  of  Bivolari  and  Tziganaschi,  in 
all  107  families,  suffered  a  loss  of  100,000  francs.  Similar  treatment 
was  accorded  to  the  Jews  in  Pungesti,  Negresti,  Panciu,  Ivesti,  Bacesti, 
Lespezi,  Rosnov,  Bozieni,  Buhusi,  Blagesti,  Draguscheni,  Bujor  and 
Eogojeni.  In  the  Walaehia  similar  attempts  were  made  by  the  peasants 
but  only  in  the  City  of  Alexandria,  inhabited  by  about  20  Jewish  fami- 
lies, was  the  attack  of  an  Anti-Semitic  character.  In  that  city  the 
plundering  was  done  by  reservists.  The  destruction  there  was  so 
thorough  that  a  Jewish  merchant  who  had  a  large  porcelain  and  glass- 
ware store  was  compelled  to  borrow  glasses  from  a  neighbor  for  Pass- 
over. The  damage  to  those  few  Jews  who  lived  in  that  town  amounted 
to  about  200,000  francs.  Their  little  Synagogue  was  destroyed  and  the 
Shochet  who  attempted  to  save  the  Torah  was  seriously  injured. 
In  all  there  were  Anti-Semitic  outbreaks  in  16  Roumanian  districts. 
The  total  number  of  families  affected  is  3,302.  The  damage  is  estimated 
at  2,679,050  francs  and  the  total  of  persons  injured  is  45. 

"Immediately  after  the  outbreak  of  this  Anti-Semitic  movement  the 
Jews  living  in  the  villages  sought  refuge  in  the  larger  cities,  but 
when  they  wanted  to  return  to  their  villages,  the  authorities  did  not 
permit  them  to  do  so.  The  position  of  those  fugitives  is  critical  as 
they  have  no  prospect  for  work.  The  authorities  not  only  did  not  allow 
the  Jews  to  return  to  the  villages  in  which  they  and  their  ancestors  had 
lived  for  generations  but  even  ordered  them  to  leave  the  rural  districts, 
including  in  that  order,  those  who  had  done  the  state  service  in  the 
army.  Even  Jews  who  were  drafted  in  the  army  to  quell  the  riots, 
when  they  returned  to  their  respective  villages,  were  ordered  to  leave. 

"The  question  presents  itself  to  us,  what  shall  we  do  with  those  who 
are  driven  from  their  homes? 

"On  the  5th  of  May  a  conference  took  place  in  Vienna  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  Organizations  of  other  lands  and  representative  Rou- 
manians, to  consider  what  aid  can  be  given.  It  was  decided  to  raise 
500,000  francs.  125,000  francs  has  been  forwarded  from  the  United 
States  from  Roumanians  residing  there,  25,000  francs  was  contributed 
from  Roumanians  here.  It  is  expected  that  Austria,  Germany,  France 
and  England  will  contribute  equal  sums.  It  was  decided  to  make  good 
15  per  cent  of  the  loss,  to  each  of  our  co-religionists.  From  the  Rou- 
manian government  nothing  is  to  be  expected." 

22 


From  documents  in  my  possession,  I  am  convinced  that  the 
claim  made  by  the  Government  of  Roumania,  that  the  uprising 
of  the  peasants  was  general  and  not  directed  against  the  Jews, 
was  not  well  founded;  that  the  peasants  and  the  Jews  lived 
peaceably  together,  but  that  the  peasants  who  were  robbed  of  their 
labor  by  the  nobility  and  officials,  were  instigated  by  such  op- 
pression to  indulge  in  an  Anti-Semitic  movement  and  that  there, 
as  in  Russia,  the  Jew  had  to  suffer  from  the  ignorant  and  un- 
educated for  the  sins  which  others  committed  against  them. 

I  issued  a  call  for  aid  and  the  Lodges  contributed  over  50,000 
francs,  which  was  promptly  forwarded  to  Dr.  Adolphe  Stern, 
President  of  the  District  Grand  Lodge  No.  9,  and  member  of  the 
Executive  Committee  from  that  District.  The  money  was  thank- 
fully acknowledged  and  was  put  to  good  purpose.  For  names  of 
donors  see  Report  for  1906-1907. 


ATTACK  ON  JEWS  IN  JAFFA. 
On  March  30,  1908,  I  received  the  following  cable : 

"PORT  SAID. 
"Adolf  Kraus,  Chicago. 

Atrocities  against  Jews  at  Jaffa  by  local  Governor,  12  Russians,  1 
American  wounded,  some  fatally.  Induce  Government,  instruct  Amer- 
ican Ambassador  Constantinople  intervene  energetically. ' ' 

This  cable  was  signed  by  two  members  of  the  Order.  Their 
names  are  suppressed  for  reasons  which  can  easily  be  under- 
stood. Subsequently  I  received  a  letter  giving  details  of  the  at- 
tack made  against  the  Jews  in  the  City  of  Jaffa,  stating  that  it 
took  place  on  March  16th;  that  owing  to  governmental  super- 
vision of  the  telegraph  offices  they  were  unable  to  send  informa- 
tion out  of  Turkey,  and  so  had  to  send  a  messenger  to  Port  Said, 
from  which  place  the  cable  was  forwarded.  On  the  same  day 
that  I  received  the  cable,  I  sent  the  following  telegram : 

23 


"March  30,  1908. 
"Hon.  Elihu  Root,  Secretary  of  State, 

Washington,  D.  C.: 

"Just  received  cablegram  signed  by  two  leading  and  reliable  co- 
religionists of  Jerusalem  and  Jaffa,  that  atrocities  have  been  com- 
mitted against  Jews  of  Jaffa  by  Local  Governor  that  12  Russians  and 
1  American  were  wounded,  some  fatally.  Respectfully  petition  the  Gov- 
ernment to  cause  an  investigation  to  be  made  by  our  Ambassador  at 
Constantinople,  as  to  the  attack  on  American  citizen,  as  such  action 
may  check  further  atrocities."  "ADOLF  KRAUS." 

I  also  telegraphed  the  information  to  Bro.  Simon  Wolf,  who 
called  upon  the  State  Department  to  urge  compliance  with  my 
request.  I  received  the  following  reply  from  the  Department  of 

State. 

"April  2,  1908. 

"Mr.  Adolf  Kraus,  President  Executive  Committee,  Independent  Order 

B  'nai  B  'rith,  Chicago,  III. : 

"I  have  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  telegram  of  the  30th  ult. 
informing  the  department  that  atrocities  have  been  committed  against 
Jews  in  Jaffa  by  the  local  Governor,  in  the  course  of  which  one 
American  was  wounded,  and  asking  that  an  investigation  be  made  by 
the  American  Ambassador.  In  reply  I  have  to  say  that  on  March  31 
the  Ambassador  at  Constantinople  was  instructed  by  telegraph  to  in- 
vestigate and  report  regarding  the  matter. 

"I  am  sir, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

"ALVEY  A.  ADEE, 
"Second  Asst.  Secy." 

Soon  after  the  investigation  was  ordered  by  our  Government 
the  local  Governor  of  Jaffa,  who  was  an  Anti-semite,  was  removed 
from  office  by  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  and  a  new  Governor,  friendly 
to  the  Jews,  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

The  President  of  one  of  our  Lodges,  on  the  date  of  June  13th, 
wrote  me  as  follows : 

"For  your  successful  assistance  in  the  Jaffa  affair  I  desire  to  thank 
you,  not  only  in  the  name  of  our  lodges,  but  also  desire  to  express  to 
you  the  heartfelt  thanks  of  all  the  Jews  here.  The  fact  that  the 

24 


United  States  government  demanded  official  information  by  cable  was 
in  itself  sufficient  to  make  a  deep  impression  at  Constantinople.  And 
that  government  lost  no  time  in  disposing  of  the  affair.  A  similar  in- 
quiry was  made  by  the  Secretary  of  the  German  government  on  the 
petition  of  the  Hilf sverein  der  Deutschen  Juden. ' ' 

On  May  12th,  the  Department  of  State  sent  me  the  following 
letter : 

"Sir:  In  further  reply  to  your  telegram  of  the  30th  of  March  last, 
regarding  the  attack  on  Jews  at  Jaffa  on  the  17th  of  the  same  month, 
in  the  course  of  which  an  American  was  wounded,  I  have  to  inform  you 
that  the  Ambassador  Leisehman's  report  on  the  subject  has  been  re- 
ceived, and  shows  that  the  disturbance  was  little  more  than  a  street 
or  bar  room  fight  and  that  the  supposed  American,  Abraham  M.  Gold- 
man, as  to  whose  American  citizenship  there  appears  to  be  considerable 
doubt,  was  only  slightly  injured. 

"I  am  sir, 

"Your  obedient  Servant, 

"ROBERT  BACON, 
' '  Assistant  Secretary. ' ' 

Our  Ambassador's  report  indicates  that  our  people  at  Jaffa 
are  easily  alarmed.  It  is  evident  that  our  country's  Ambassador 
did  not  attach  much  importance  to  the  occurrence.  However,  the 
fact  remains  that  the  people  of  Jaffa  by  the  occurrence,  gained  a 
new  Governor  who  appears  to  be  a  just  man. 

WHITE  SLAVE  TRAFFIC. 

About  three  years  ago,  a  certain  monthly  magazine  charged 
that  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  so-called  Ghetto  in  the 
city  of  Chicago  make  their  living  by  trafficking  in  women.  The 
charge  came  as  a  surprise  and  was  looked  upon  as  a  venomous 
libel.  It  would  be  too  much  to  expect  that  the  Jews  should  be 
entirely  free  of  offenses  of  which  non-Jews  are  guilty,  but  the 
charge  that  the  trafficking  in  women  in  the  city  of  Chicago  was 
largely  in  the  hands  of  Jews,  was  so  outrageously  overdrawn 
that  none  believed  it.  An  investigation  disclosed  as  usual,  the 
grain  of  truth  in  the  husk  of  falsehood.  The  sinners  were  many 
and  there  were  Jews  amongst  them. 

25 


A  meeting  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Order  in  that  city 
was  called,  for  the  purpose  of  devising  means  of  stamping  out  the 
traffic  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  It  was  found  that  there  was  no 
adequate  law  in  the  state  of  Illinois  to  punish  the  offenders. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  suitable  law.  The  law  was 
introduced  in  the  next  State  Legislature  and  was  unanimously 
passed.  Several  other  states  have  since  then  adopted  the  same 
or  a  similar  law.  A  vigorous  prosecution  was  begun  against  of- 
fenders and  they  were  rapidly  sent  to  jail.  In  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago, of  the  arrests  and  convictions,  about  20  per  cent  were  Jews 
because  owing  to  published  articles  in  the  magazine,  the  detec- 
tives concentrated  their  first  efforts  in  attempts  to  arrest  the  Jews 
engaged  in  that  traffic. 

In  my  opinion,  the  combating  of  White  Slavery  is  one  of  the 
most  important  of  our  undertakings.  One  State  after  the  other 
is  passing  laws  to  punish  panderers.  Congress  has  undertaken 
to  pass  stringent  laws.  The  people  are  aroused  and  justly  so. 
It  will  not  do  for  us  to  point  to  past  records  and  deny  that  there 
are  Jewish  panderers  or  call  for  strict  proof.  Our  efforts  must 
be  to  the  end  that  there  shall  be  no  Jewish  panderers.  Not  even 
one  should  be  tolerated.  They  must  be  sent  to  jail  and  to  do 
penance.  They  must  be  ostracised.  The  Jews  of  the  city  of 
Omaha,  under  the  leadership  of  members  of  the  Order,  succeeded 
in  abolishing  pandering  in  that  city  without  adequate  laws,  by 
refusing  those  engaged  in  that  traffic,  all  religious  rights,  even 
the  right  of  burial  in  a  Jewish  cemetery.  We  owe  it  to  ourselves 
as  citizens  of  this  country  and  to  generations  yet  to  come,  to  let 
no  guilty  person  escape. 

B'NAI  B'RITH  NEWS. 

The  President  of  the  Order,  in  his  report  to  the  Convention 
of  1874,  said  the  following : 

"The  time  has  come  when  provision  ought  to  be  made  to  establish 
a  permanent  medium  of  interchange  of  views  and  ideas  between  the 
various  official  branches  of  our  Order  and  the  members.  The  Order 
has  reached  an  extension,  geographically  and"  numerically,  beyond  the 

26 


boldest  anticipations  of  its  early  friends;  its  principles  and  policy  are 
being  more  clearly  defined;  the  objects  it  is  in  pursuit  of  are  no  longer 
concealed  behind  a  vapory  cloud  but  are  brought  out  in  bold  and  promi- 
nent relief;  neither  are  we  satisfied  with  hollow  promises  and  pompoua 
phrases  in  place  of  energetic  measures  for  the  realization  of  our  educa- 
tional and  civilizing  aspirations.  The  establishment  of  merely  formal 
authorities,  and  the  holding  of  periodical  conventions  are  not  strong 
enough  to  hold  the  vast  body  of  men  together,  to  keep  the  spiritual 
and  fraternal  bond  intact,  and  the  harmony  unbroken.  The  hopes,  as- 
pirations, aims  and  purposes  of  the  Order  require  a  medium,  wherein 
they  can  be  embodied,  defined,  discussed.  We  must  have  a  press  organ, 
which  would  offer  to  every  official  body  such  as  Lodges,  Grand  Lodges, 
and  the  general  executive  authority,  the  means  of  rapid  and  constant 
communication  with  each  other,  and  between  them  and  the  members  at 
large.  We  cannot  hope  to  keep  the  interests  of  the  individual  member 
awake  to  our  common  objects  without  giving  him  the  opportunity  to  be 
beard  and  understood  by  the  members  of  the  Order  without  the  circum- 
locution imposed  by  official  authorities.  *  *  *  Our  civilizing  aspira- 
tions must  be  cultivated;  impulses  of  a  higher  nature  must  be  brought 
to  the  home  of  every  individual  member;  he  must  be  kept  in  constant 
communication  with  the  brotherhood  at  large,  whether  he  attends  lodge 
meetings  or  not;  the  fire  of  enthusiasm  of  love  and  humanity  must  be 
kept  alive,  and  this  can  only  be  done  through  a  press  organ,  to  be  estab- 
lished by  the  coming  General  Convention,  with  the  aid  and  support  of 
the  whole  brotherhood." 

I  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  add  anything  to  what  was  said 
twenty-six  years  ago  as  'to  the  necessity  for  such  an  organ.  Your 
Executive  Committee  for  a  short  time  published  the  "B'nai 
B'rith  Bulletin."  The  "Bulletin"  was  the  pioneer  which  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  B'nai  B'rith  News,  now  approaching  its 
second  anniversary.  Whether  or  not  it  comes  up  to  the  standard 
of  what  Bro.  Bien  thought  of  an  official  organ  26  years  ago,  I 
cannot  tell,  but  I  do  know  that  he  expressed  to  me  great  satisfac- 
tion both  with  the  character  of  the  publication  and  the  results 
he  professed  to  believe  were  being  achieved  by  it. 

At  present  a  number  of  Lodges  subscribe  for  the  paper  and 
pay  20  cents  a  year  for  each  member.  That  sum,  however,  is  not 
sufficient  to  cover  the  cost  of  its  publication.  Some  lodges  have 
refused  to  subscribe  for  the  paper.  The  rule  seems  to  be  that 

27 


those  lodges  which  need  it  most,  decline  to  subscribe  for  it, 
to  save  the  expense. 

I  recommend  to  this  Convention  that  the  action  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  in  establishing  an  official  organ  for  the  Order 
be  approved,  and  that  provision  be  made  for  the  regular  for- 
warding of  copies  of  it  to  every  member  of  the  Order  in  America, 
and  to  the  Lodges  in  other  countries  as  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee may  deem  proper,  and  that  the  entire  expense  be  borne  by 
the  Executive  Committee. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  ORDER. 

The  President  of  the  Order  in  1874  urged  as  of  great  im- 
portance : 

"That  the  Convention  appoint  a  commission  whose  duty  it  shall  be 
to  write  and  publish  an  authentic  history  of  our  Order,  under  such 
conditions  and  regulations  as  in  its  wisdom  it  may  deem  proper — a 
history,  not  only  of  the  numerical  growth  and  wealth  of  the  Order,  but 
also  of  the  development  and  realization  of  its  great  fundamental  prin- 
ciples, which  would  establish  forever  its  true  tendencies  and  its  ultimate 
object." 

Subsequently  Bro.  Bien  himself  undertook  the  work  of  writing 
the  history,  performing  it  in  his  usual,  able  and  interesting  man- 
ner, but  unfortunately  he  covered  only  the  first  fifteen  years  of 
its  existence.  The  history  begun  by  him  should  be  continued. 
Your  Executive  Committee  has  been  fortunate  in  securing  the 
promise  of  one  of  its  members,  Dr.  Calisch,  to  complete  this  work 
provided  the  members  in  the  different  districts  would  aid  in  fur- 
nishing data  which  do  not  appear  in  the  records  of  the  various 
conventions.  I  recommend  that  the  secretaries  of  the  various 
districts  be  requested  to  furnish  Dr.  Calisch  with  such  data  ap- 
pearing upon  their  records  as  he  may  require.  This  can  readily 
be  done  by  those  secretaries  whose  predecessors  have  preserved 
the  records  of  the  proceedings.  Further  assistance  would  also 
be  given  if  such  members  of  the  Order  as  may  be  aware  of  inter- 
esting personal  reminiscences  of  leading  members  of  their  Dis- 
trict, dead  or  alive,  would  kindly  write  of  them  to  Dr.  Calisch. 

28 


EUKOPEAN  LODGES. 

In  February,  1909,  I  visited  Europe,  returning  to  this  country 
in  August. 

I  desire  here  to  express  my  gratitude  to  the  General  Commit- 
tee of  District  No.  1  for  the  courtesies  extended  to  me  on  my 
departure  for  Europe,  and  to  all  the  brethren  from  the  American 
Districts  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  their  expressions  of  good 
wishes  on  that  occasion.  Whether  it  was  because  of  their  good 
wishes,  or  of  the  great  steady  steamer  and  pleasant  weather,  or 
possibly,  of  all  combined,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  I  am  not  a 
good  sailor,  I  enjoyed  the  ocean  trip  both  going  and  coming  very 
much. 

Were  I  to  describe  my  impressions  of  the  character  of  our 
membership  in  the  European  Districts,  I  could  do  so  only  in 
terms  of  highest  praise.  The  reception  accorded  me  as 
President  of  the  Order,  attested  their  profound  respect  for  and 
sincere  faith  in  the  ideals  of  an  institution  of  which  they  are 
proud  to  be  members. 

A  hospitable  reception  will  naturally  prejudice  one  in  favor  of 
his  host.  I  have  tried  not  to  allow  myself  to  be  influenced  by  the 
hospitality  bestowed  upon  me,  and  have  endeavored  to  judge  of 
the  work  and  of  the  members  in  an  unbiased  manner. 

Membership  in  the  Order  there  is  not  held  cheaply.  New 
members  are  not  sought  by  the  Lodges,  but  membership  in  the 
Order  is  eagerly  sought  and  highly  prized,  and  many  applica- 
tions are  rejected.  The  lodges  as  a  rule  charge  large  initiation 
fees  and  high  dues.  In  many  places  whatever  charitable  work  is 
done,  is  done  by  the  Lodges.  It  is  not  deemed  necessary  to  cite 
here  what  institutions  are  there  maintained,  for  that  informa- 
tion has  been  published  heretofore  in  pamphlet  form.  Without 
desiring  to  reflect  upon  any  of  the  American  Districts,  I  cannot 
help  but  feel  that  the  older  Districts  can  learn  much  from  the 
younger  ones. 

The  admirable  characteristic  of  members  in  Germany  and 
Austria  is  their  cheerful  willingness  to  give  any  amount  of  per- 

29 


sonal  service  to  the  Order  and  humanity.  The  duties  of  mem- 
bership are  not  attended  to  in  a  slipshod  manner,  but  all  their 
work,  be  it  maintenance  of  Labor  Bureaus,  Toynbee  Halls, 
Orphan  Asylums,  or  whatever  else,  is  attended  to  with  as  much 
enthusiasm  and  willingness  as  if  their  individual  fortunes  were 
dependent  upon  their  success. 

When  I  arrived  in  Hamburg,  Committees  from  seventeen 
different  cities  were  sent  by  their  respective  lodges  to  greet  me. 
In  Berlin  the  President  of  nearly  every  lodge  in  Germany  came  to 
attend  the  banquet,  and  to  extend  invitations  to  me  to  visit  their 
respective  cities.  No  sacrifice  of  time  or  labor  seemed  too  much 
for  them.  Delegates  from  lodges  from  great  distances  were  sent 
to  every  city  I  visited. 

During  my  visit,  a  Lodge  was  instituted  at  Zurich,  Switzer- 
land, by  the  President  of  District  No.  8,  and  nearly  all  the  lodges 
of  Germany  sent  delegates  to  be  present  at  the  institution  of  the 
new  lodge.  In  some  instances,  two  or  three  lodges  joined  to- 
gether in  sending  a  delegate.  Of  the  72  lodges  in  Germany, 
nearly  all  were  represented  at  that  meeting  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  show  their  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Order.  When  the 
roll  call  of  the  German  Lodges  was  called  for  greetings  from  the 
respective  lodges,  the  delegates  responded  briefly.  In  the  lodges 
of  Districts  8  and  10,  when  a  candidate  is  to  be  initiated,  the 
members  appear  in  the  lodge  room  in  full  dress.  The  greatest 
care  is  taken  by  the  committee  investigating  candidates,  that  no 
unworthy  man  be  admitted  to  membership.  The  word  "brother" 
means  something  to  the  members  there.  It  is  not  an  idle  word. 
The  word  embraces  not  only  the  brothers,  but  the  brothers' 
families. 

This  brings  to  my  mind  a  scene  I  witnessed  in  Vienna  which 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  me.  I  visited  what  is  known  there 
as  a  "Trauerloge."  A  member  of  "Wien  Loge"  had  died.  A  few 
days  afterwards  memorial  services  were  held  in  the  lodge  room. 
The  lodge  room  was  heavily  draped  in  mourning,  a  life  sized 
picture  of  the  deceased  hung  over  the  President's  chair.  The 
members  assembled  in  full  dress,  with  black  ties  and  gloves.  The 

30 


lodge  was  called  to  order  and  the  monitor  was  sent  out  to  escort 
the  family  of  the  deceased  into  the  lodge  room,  the  organ  mean- 
while playing  solemn  music,  all  the  members  standing.  The 
widow  and  children  were  brought  in  front  of  the  President's 
chair  and  seated  in  chairs  provided  for  them.  The  members 
then  took  their  respective  seats.  The  President  called  upon  one 
of  the  members  present  to  deliver  the  Memorial  Address.  A 
more  able,  eloquent  and  sincere  address  I  have  never  listened  to. 
It  lasted  about  twenty  minutes.  Then  the  President  called  upon 
one  of  the  distinguished  lawyers  of  Vienna,  a  past-president  of 
the  lodge,  to  step  forward.  The  President  then  informed  him 
that  under  the  rules  of  the  lodge,  he  was  appointed  guardian  of 
the  deceased  brother's  family,  and  asked  him  in  the  presence  of 
the  family  and  the  brethren  assembled,  whether  he  would  promise 
to  accept  the  position  and  to  watch  and  guard  over  the  welfare  of 
the  family.  This  the  brother  readily  agreed  to  do,  and  the 
President  then  told  the  widow  that  whenever  she  needed  any  ad- 
vice, or  aid,  she  should  call  on  the  guardian  appointed  by  the 
lodge,  or  send  for  him,  and  that  through  him,  her  wishes  would 
be  communicated  to  the  lodge.  Thereupon  without  further 
ceremony,  the  lodge  adjourned,  the  members  standing  while  the 
family  retired,  after  which  the  members  also  retired. 

On  inquiry,  I  found  that  the  deceased  brother  was  a  very 
wealthy  man ;  that  he  left  minor  children,  and  that  although  no 
financial  aid  would  in  all  likelihood  be  needed  by  the  family  of 
the  deceased,  it -became  the  duty  of  the  Lodge  Guardian  to  see 
that  the  family  was  protected  and  guided  until  the  youngest 
child  became  of  age,  and  to  report  to  the  lodge  at  least  once  a 
year  how  every  member  of  that  family  was  getting  along. 

Our  Order  since  its  infancy  has  gone  through  many  changes. 
I  believe  we  have  now  reached  the  time  when  certain  other 
changes  should  be  made. 

The  Order  in  its  inception,  following  the  vogue  of  the  secret 
organizations  then  existing,  created  high  sounding  Hebrew  titles 
for  its  officers ;  used  regalias ;  conferred  degrees ;  paid  sick  bene- 
fits ;  and  subsequently  it  undertook  to  insure  the  lives  of  its  mem- 

31 


bers.  Gradually,  changes  were  inaugurated.  The  high  sound- 
ing titles  were  abolished,  regalias  and  degrees  are  now  un- 
known, the  last  to  fall  by  the  wayside  being  the  insurance  feature. 
Gradually,  out  of  an  organization  which  to  some  extent  was 
created  for  self-protection,  grew  the  great  altruistic  society, 
stretching  out  its  helping  hand  from  the  shores  of  the  Pacific 
ocean  to  the  land  in  which  our  patriarchal  ancestors  dwelt,  and 
back  again,  to  assist  with  all  its  great  strength  in  the  develop- 
ment and  elevation  of  the  mental  and  moral  character  of  the 
people  of  our  faith. 

But  the  question  presents  itself,  can  an  organization  which  is 
held  together  only  by  the  common  desire  of  its  members,  to  give 
assistance  to  others  be  expected  long  to  endure?  Does  not  the 
cement  of  organization  require  in  the  mixture  some  other  in- 
gredient to  make  it  lasting  ?  Men  are  not  yet  perfect,  and  work- 
ing always  for  others  and  never  for  one's  self,  is  likely  to  be- 
come irksome. 

I  recommend  to  the  consideration  of  this  Convention,  the 
advisability  of  attempting  legislation  that  would  create  some 
benefit  to  the  member  or  his  family  to  be  derived  from  mem- 
bership in  the  Order.  I  am  not  in  favor  of  legislation  that 
would  confer  upon  members  any  pecuniary  advantages,  but  I 
should  like  to  see  the  By-Law  of  the  Vienna  Lodge  as  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  lodge  guardian  adopted  and  followed  by  every  lodge 
in  the  Order.  In  our  labors  for  the  cause  of  humanity,  we 
should  not  overlook  our  own  families.  A  man  joining  our  ranks 
should  not  look  for  any  benefit  to  himself,  but  he  should  have 
the  right  to  feel  that,  when  by  an  inscrutable  Providence  he  is 
called  hence,  the  widow  and  children  he  leaves  behind  shall,  by 
virtue  of  his  membership  in  a  true  brotherhood,  receive  a  broth- 
er's watchful  care. 

In  order  properly  to  enable  us  to  carry  out  such  Legislation  if 
enacted,  the  character  of  our  membership  must  be  carefully 
guarded.  We  are  not  a  political  body,  and  the  question  of  the 
number  of  votes  is  of  no  importance. 

Class  initiations  need  not  be  discouraged,  but  the  character 

32 


of  each  candidate  should  be  carefully  studied  before  he  is  ad- 
mitted to  membership.  When  a  committee  is  appointed  to  in- 
vestigate a  candidate  such  committee  ought  not  to  be  permitted 
to  report  to  the  lodge  until  it  has  met,  exchanged  views  and  can 
conscientiously  recommend  election.  One  bad  man  in  a  lodge 
may  be  enough  to  destroy  the  usefulness  of  the  whole  lodge.  We 
should  not  look  to  quantity  but  to  quality.  The  election  of  a 
member  into  our  Order  should  be  generally  recognized  as  the 
equivalent  of  a  certificate  of  good  character. 

In  this  Democratic  land  of  ours  the  wealth  or  social  station  of 
a  candidate  should  have  little  bearing.  The  sole  test  to  mem- 
bership should  be  character.  Ten  thousand  members,  more  or 
less,  each  of  whom  can  be  depended  on  to  do  his  duty,  and 
recognized  by  his  neighbors  as  a  good  and  truthful  citizen,  will 
be  much  stronger  and  represent  more  than  would  100,000  indiffer- 
ent members  admitted  for  no  other  reason  than  simply  because 
they  applied  for  membership.  We  have  a  good  membership  but 
let  us  build  upwards  and  not  downwards.  Let  our  organiza- 
tion be  democratic  in  its  relations  and  activities,  but  aristocratic 
in  character. 

CONDITIONS  IN  GALICIA. 

The  condition  of  the  Jews  in  Galicia  is  deplorable.  The  pov- 
erty among  the  very  large  Jewish  population  of  that  land  is  in- 
describable. According  to  the  last  census  there  are  811,371  Jews 
in  Galicia  of  which  one-third  consists  of  beggars  and  the  great 
majority  of  the  other  two-thirds  of  so-called  "Luft  Menschen." 
The  country  itself  is  poor,  has  but  few  industries,  and  in  the  few 
industries  that  do  exist,  the  Jews  have  very  little  chance  for 
work,  owing  to  the  anti-semitic  agitation  carried  on  by  the  Polish 
Trade  Societies  to  which  Jews  are  not  admitted. 

Owing  to  their  extreme  poverty,  consumption  rages  among  the 
Jews  of  Galicia.  In  Silesia,  German-Poland,  the  annual  death 
rate  is  13.01  in  every  1,000  Jews;  in  Galicia,  Austria-Poland,  it 
is  20.09.  Consequently  there  are  annually  5,744  more  deaths 

33 


among  the  Jews  in  Galicia  than  there  would  be  among  an  equal 
number  in  Silesia.  Lack  of  work  and  means  causes  lack  of  food 
and  unhealthy  habitations.  Result:  the  unusual  large  death 
rate.  Constant  misery  caused  by  poverty  weakens  not  only  the 
body  but  the  morals  of  a  people.  Hence  it  is  not  strange  that 
among  the  Galician  Jews,  the  recruiting  agent,  finds  many  not 
too  reluctant  additions  to  the  army  of  the  "White  Slaves." 

The  10th  District  of  the  Order  furnishes  money  to  establish 
industries  in  order  to  give  employment  to  the  unfortunate;  but 
it  is  considered  that  the  girl  who  can  earn  by  a  hard  day's  work, 
one  krone,  20  cents  in  our  money,  is  earning  good  wages.  The 
German  Hilfsverein,  the  Austrian  Hilfsverein  and  the  German 
Grand  Lodge  are  also  aiding  to  some  extent  the  unfortunate 
among  our  people  in  that  land. 

We  are  fighting  the  "White  Slave"  traffic.  Let  us  help  to  close 
up  the  markets  which  furnish  the  victims. 

From  the  fund  which  we  contributed  towards  the  relief  of  the 
sufferers  by  the  Russian  massacre,  there  is  a  certain  amount  still 
in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Schiff  as  treasurer,  which,  under  the  laws  he 
cannot  very  well  dispose  of.  With  the  consent  of  the  Executive 
CommiD^ee,  I  asked  Mr.  Schiff  to  return  to  us  our  proportionate 
share  of  the  amount  still  on  hand  (about  $6,000)  in  order  that 
we  might  send  it  to  District  No.  10  to  augment  the  fund  being 
raised  for  the  establishment  of  industries  to  furnish  work  to 
the  Galician  Jews.  I  stated  to  Mr.  Schiff  also  that  the 
Order  would  indemnify  him  against  any  loss  because  of  such 
payment.  Mr.  Schiff  has  agreed  to  this.  I  therefore  recommend 
that  this  Convention  pass  suitable  resolution  to  indemnify  Mr. 
Schiff  against  any  loss  which  may  accrue  to  him  through  pay- 
ment to  us  of  our  share  of  the  funds  in  his  hands,  and  that  the 
money  when  paid  over,  be  forwarded  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Austria,  to  be  used  as  aforesaid. 

NEW  LODGE  IN  LONDON. 

While  in  Europe,  I  requested  Bro.  Siegmund  Bergel,  of  Mon- 
tefiore  Lodge,  Berlin,  to  visit  London  for  the  purpose  of  laying 

34 


a  foundation  for  a  lodge  in  that  city.  He  accepted  the  com- 
mission and  faithfully  carried  out  the  trust  imposed  upon  him. 
He  induced  Mr.  Claude  G.  Montefiore,  who  is  a  member  of  Mon- 
tefiore  Lodge,  Berlin,  to  call  a  meeting  of  leading  London 
Jews,  at  his  residence,  on  June  17th  last.  In  company  with  Bro. 
Bergel  I  attended  it.  We  addressed  those  present  and  tried  to 
interest  them  in  the  formation  of  a  lodge.  Nearly  all  were  in- 
terested as  officers  in  different  Jewish  organizations,  performing 
some  of  the  work  which  the  Order  has  taken  upon  itself  to  do, 
and  consequently  the  objection  was  made  that  the  establishment 
of  a  lodge  would  duplicate  work  and  bring  on  confusion.  Nine 
of  those  present,  however,  declared  their  willingness  to  join  the 
Order  and  form  a  lodge  in  that  city.  I  initiated  them  and  had 
them  elected  honorary  members  of  my  home  lodge.  It  was  my 
expectation  that  the  London  Lodge  should,  as  to  the  character 
of  the  members,  be  one  of  the  banner  lodges  of  the  Order.  The 
selection  of  members  for  that  lodge  by  the  committee  of  nine 
new  members  was  slow  work.  It  was  understood  that  each  one 
selected  for  membership  should  be  a  man  who  stood  for  some- 
thing in  the  community.  I  take  great  pleasure  in  informing  you 
that  on  the  19th  of  March  of  this  year,  the  London  Lodge  No. 
663  was  instituted  in  London  by  Bro.  Siegmund  Bergel,  acting 
on  behalf  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Order. 

I  consider  the  formation  of  that  lodge  the  most  important 
event  of  this  administration  so  far  as  strengthening  the  Order 
is  concerned,  and  believe  that  the  work  of  the  new  lodge  in  due 
time  will  redound  to  the  glory  of  Israel. 

Some  years  ago  a  number  of  immigrants  in  England  formed  a 
benevolent  organization  securing  benefits  to  its  members,  and 
without  hesitation  adopted  the  name  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  B'nai  B'rith.  For  that  reason  our  order  in  England  may 
have  to  be  known  as  the  United  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith. 

SECKECY. 

The  question  of  abolishing  the  so-called  secrecy  feature  of  the 
Order  is  not  a  new  one.    For  more  than  25  years  it  has  been  pre- 
35 


sented  to  each  convention  for  consideration,  and  at  each  suc- 
ceeding convention  those  in  favor  of  its  abolishment  have  gained 
in  numbers.  Whatever  my  personal  inclination  may  be,  any 
recommendations  I  make  to  the  convention  are  based  on  what 
I  believe  to  be  for  the  welfare  of  the  Order. 

Have  we  any  secrecy?  This  convention  is  open  to  the  public. 
Most  of  the  District  Grand  Lodges,  if  not  all,  meet  with  open 
doors.  "What  secrets  have  we  ?  A  pass  word  and  a  sign  of  recog- 
nition for  the  purpose  of  identification.  All  of  our  work  may 
be  known  to  mankind.  The  mere  fact  that  we  can  prove  our- 
selves to  be  members  of  this  organization  and  thereby  show  ths* 
we  have  been  found  by  our  fellow-members  as  men  of  good  char  • 
acter  has  a  tendency  to  cement  the  membership  in  brotherly 
love  and  respect  and  to  create  obligations  towards  each  other 
in  contradistinction  to  the  mere  contributors  to  charitable  or- 
ganizations, who  when  they  pay  their  contributions  consider 
they  have  done  their  duty  and  have  no  special  interest  in  their 
fellow-contributors. 

The  lodge  system  is  the  best  so  far  adopted  to  teach  members 
brotherly  love.  That  seems  to  be  the  view  of  the  members  in 
America  and  is  unquestionably  the  view  of  the  European  mem- 
bers. During  my  visit  to  Europe,  wherever  I  went  I  was  in- 
formed that  so  far  as  the  Order  in  Europe  was  concerned  the 
abolishment  of  the  lodge  system  would  be  the  death-knell  of  the 
Order  there.  In  all  my  travels  I  did  not  find  a  single  member 
who  favored  the  abolishment  of  the  present  system  and  I  dis- 
cussed the  question  with  the  members  of  the  General  Committee 
of  Districts  Nos.  8  and  10,  also  with  the  President  of  District 
No.  9. 

The  attack  on  secrecy  is  virtually  an  attack  upon  fraternal  or- 
ganizations with  ritualistic  form  of  work,  recognized  by  the  laws 
of  the  land  as  beneficial  to  the  community.  Special  laws  have 
been  passed  by  nearly  all  the  states  for  their  benefit.  In  view  of 
the  fact  that  six  of  the  American  Districts  are  bound  to  carry 
out  the  endowment  laws  applicable  to  their  old  members  care 
must  be  taken  not  to  jeopardize  the  rights  of  such  members.  An 


abolishment  of  the  lodge  system  under  ritualistic  form  of  gov- 
ernment would  in  some  of  the  states  make  it  almost  impossible, 
if  not  illegal  to  carry  out  obligations  to  the  members  under  old 
endowment  laws.  To  illustrate:  the  State  of  Illinois  has  the 
following  law: 

"A  fraternal  beneficiary  society  is  hereby  declared  to  be  a  cor- 
poration, society  or  association  formed,  organized  or  carried  on 
for  the  sole  benefit  of  its  members  and  their  beneficiaries  and 
not  for  profit.  Each  society  shall  have  the  lodge  system  with 
ritualistic  form  of  work  and  representative  form  of  government 
and  may  make  provisions  for  the  payment  of  benefits  in  case  of 
disability  or  death  or  of  either  resulting  from  either  disease, 
accident  or  old  age  of  its  members." 

The  act  provides  that  such  society  shall  be  exempt  from  the 
law  regulating  life  insurance  campanies.  A  society  which  has 
not  a  lodge  system  with  ritualistic  form  of  government  and  pro- 
vides for  benefits  in  case  of  disability  or  death  is  deemed  a  life 
insurance  company  and  regulated  by  the  strict  laws  applicable 
to  those  companies,  laws  which  the  District  could  not  possibly 
comply  with.  On  account  of  the  endowment  in  the  American 
Districts  it  is  therefore  absolutely  essential  in  most  of  the  States 
to  maintain  the  lodge  system  under  ritualistic  form  of  govern- 
ment. 

To  attempt  to  make  any  change  in  that  regard  at  the  pres- 
ent time  would  in  my  opinion  disrupt  the  Order;  and  from  the 
standpoint  of  what  I  believe  is  best  for  the  entire  Order,  I  urge 
that  no  change  in  this  respect  be  made  and  that  no  time  be 
wasted  in  attempting  to  make  such  change. 

In  this  connection  and  at  the  request  of  some  of  the  leading 
European  members,  I  desire  to  make  another  recommendation, 
which  may  seem  to  be  a  step  backward.  Our  password  has  been 
the  same  for  years.  A  suspended  or  expelled  member  often  finds 
no  difficulty  when  away  from  home  in  visiting  a  lodge  when  in 
executive  session.  In  this  country  it  has  happened  that  men  who 
years  before  ceased  to  be  members  of  the  Order,  while  traveling 

87 


as  field  agents  on  behalf  of  some  other  organization,  have  visited 
our  lodges  and  carried  on  propaganda  work  in  our  lodge  rooms. 
I  recommend  that  the  President  of  the  Executive  Committee 
be  authorized  to  communicate  to  the  lodges  an  annual  pass- 
word, and  that  no  member  be  permitted  to  visit  sister  lodges  un- 
less in  possession  of  such  annual  password,  or  a  traveling  card 
as  evidence  that  he  is  still  a  member  in  good  standing.  We  have 
members  who  never  think  of  visiting  their  own  lodge,  but  when 
on  a  pleasure  trip  to  Europe  are  very  anxious  to  visit  the  lodges 
there  and  receive  the  honors  there  shown  them  and  enjoy  the 
privileges  extended  to  them. 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

Many  unusual  and  important  questions  have  arisen  in  the  last 
five  years  which  required  the  attention  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee. The  order  was  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  the  members 
of  that  body.  They  are  able  men  whose  advice  and  assistance 
were  invaluable  aids  to  me  in  the  performance  of  my  duties.  In 
the  selection  of  the  next  Executive  Committee  each  District 
should  be  careful  in  the  choice  of  its  representative  so  that  my 
successor  may  be  as  ably  assisted  as  was  I. 

In  this  connection  I  desire  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  authority  of  the  Executive  Committee  to  call  for  voluntary 
contributions  in  times  of  great  disaster  has  never  been  ques- 
tioned. Contributions  were  called  for  by  my  predecessors  for 
the  relief  of  the  Yellow  Fever  sufferers  of  New  Orleans ;  for  the 
Yellow  Fever  sufferers  of  Memphis ;  for  the  sufferers  of  the  Chi- 
cago Fire;  the  Galveston  Flood,  and  upon  other  occasions. 

The  collection  of  contributions  cannot  be  enforced  under  our 
law.  They  must  be  voluntary;  but  when  once  collected  at  the 
request  of  the  Executive  Committee,  they  ought  to  be  under  the 
absolute  control  of  the  Executive  Committee. 

When  we  issued  a  call  to  aid  the  Eussian  sufferers,  each  Dis- 
trict was  requested  to  forward  the  money  so  collected  to  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Executive  Committee  so  that  we  could 

38 


at  least  keep  a  record  of  our  contributions.  Excepting  one,  each 
District  promptly  complied  with  this  request. 

Subsequently  came  the  San  Francisco  earthquake.  We  again 
issued  a  call  for  aid  with  instructions  to  forward  the  money  to 
the  Central  Office.  With  the  same  exception,  each  of  the  Districts 
again  promptly  complied.  In  response  to  the  first  call  the  ex- 
cepted  District  made  a  collection,  but  turned  it  over  directly  to 
Mr.  Schiff.  In  the  second  instance,  it  insisted  upon  sending  the 
money  to  District  No.  4  ignoring  the  Executive  Committee;  and 
it  was  not  until  District  No.  4  refused  to  accept  the  collection, 
unless  it  should  come  through  the  Executive  Office,  that  the 
money  was  forwarded  as  requested. 

I  recommend  that  some  law  be  enacted  defining  the  rights  and 
duties  of  the  Executive  Committee  in  such  emergencies. 

COUET  OF  APPEALS. 

Two  appeals  were  taken  to  our  Court,  one  from  District  No.  8. 
That  appeal  was  dismissed  because  it  did  not  comply  with  the 
rules  of  the  Court. 

I  wonder  how  many  of  the  distinguished  delegates  present 
know  what  the  rules  of  that  Court  are,  or  where  they  are  to  be 
found. 

The  Court  of  Appeals  adopted  rules  about  twenty-five  years 
ago  and  published  them  in  booklet  form.  I  was  then  a  member 
of  that  Court,  but  confess  now  that  I  do  not  possess  the  booklet 
containing  the  rules,  and  that  I  have  at  best  only  a  hazy  recollec- 
tion of  what  they  are. 

I  recommend  that  the  Members  of  the  Court  attending  this 
session  should,  before  leaving  Washington,  make  such  changes 
as  may  be  desirable,  if  any,  in  the  rules,  and  give  them  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Eexcutive  Committee  to  be  printed  as  an 
appendix  to  the  Constitution  of  the  Order,  so  that  each  member 
may  know  what  the  rules  of  the  Court  are;  and  I  further  recom- 
mend that  the  rules  of  the  Court  be  so  amended  as  to  permit 
appellants  residing  in  European  Districts  to  perfect  their  ap- 


peals  in  the  German  language.  The  rules  of  the  Court  now  in 
force,  providing  that  appeals  must  be  in  the  English  language, 
do  not  conduce  to  strengthen  the  ties  existing  between  the 
American  and  European  Districts;  and  as  the  distinguished 
members  of  our  Court  are  scholars  and  linguists,  it  seems  to 
me  it  would  be  a  pleasure  and  a  recreation  to  them  occasionally 
to  pass  upon  an  appeal  presented  in  the  German  language. 

OBITUARY. 

"There  is  no  flock  however  watched  and  tended, 

But  one  dead  lamb  is  there. 
There  is  no  fireside  howsoe'r  defended, 
But  has  one  vacant  chair." 

Unfortunately  for  our  Order,  since  last  we  met,  there  are 
many  chairs  made  vacant.  At  the  last  Convention  Bro.  M. 
Thalmessinger  was  with  us.  For  55  years  he  was  active  as  a 
member  of  the  Order.  Before  the  Convention  adjourned,  ex- 
pecting that  he  would  not  be  with  us  at  this  Convention,  he 
arose  and  addressed  us  in  part  as  follows: 

"Yes,  I  do  love  the  Order,  with  all  its  virtues  and  merits 
and  with  all  its  faults  and  shortcomings.  I  do  love  its  members 
and  the  dear  associations  and  friendships  I  have  formed  therein 
for  over  half  a  century.  It  comforts  me  to  think  of  the  warm 
hands  that  have  so  often  clasped  my  own ;  the  hundreds  of  warm 
hearts  that  have  admitted  me  into  their  love  and  confidence. 
But  that  blissful  feeling  passes  away  like  vapors  before  the 
rising  sun  when  I  think  of  the  tribute  I,  like  all  human  beings, 
will  have  to  pay  nature,  and  which  reminds  me  of  the  stern  fact 
that  when  you,  my  brethren,  again  meet  five  years  hence,  to 
perpetuate  our  noble  cause  and  that  of  all  Israel,  I  am  not 
likely  to  enjoy  your  fraternal  companionship,  but  that  the  next 
Convention  will  not  find  me  on  earth  or  physically  able  to  be 
present.  But,  my  dear  brethren,  although  I  will  be  absent  in 
body,  I  will  be  with  you  in  spirit.  And  from  that  unknown 
region  the  "Hereafter"  in  which  I  devoutly  believe,  from  beyond 

40 


the  stars  of  Heaven,  I  will  look  down  upon  you  and  I  will 
be  with  you  in  spirit,  and  my  spirit  will  bless  you  one  and  all, 
and  it  will  rejoice  in  and  sympathize  with  your  work,  a  work 
dedicated,  as  it  ever  was,  to  the  glory  of  God  and  to  the  better- 
ment of  mankind. 

"When  forced  to  part  from  those  we  love, 

Though  hope  to  meet  to-morrow, 
We  yet  a  kind  of  anguish  prove 

And  feel  a  touch  of  sorrow. 
But,  oh !  what  words  can  paint  our  fears 

When  from  those  friends  we  sever, 
Perhaps  to  part  for  months — for  years — 

Perhaps  to  part  forever." 

"My  friends!  My  beloved  brethren!  My  comrades  in  peace 
and  war!  Farewell!  farewell!  farewell!" 

Alas,  the  prophecy  of  Bro.  Thalmessinger  proved  true.  He 
is  no  more  with  us. 

Bro.  M.  Ellinger,  for  a  long  time  Secretary  of  the  Executive 
Committee  and  who  was  largely  instrumental  in  establishing 
the  European  Lodges,  is  also  gone  to  that  Home  from  which 
no  traveler  returns. 

Bro.  Julius  Bien,  the  Nestor  of  the  Order  for  more  than 
60  years,  died  on  December  21st  last,  and  thus  within  a  short 
period  of  time,  the  three  great  pillars  of  strength  of  our 
Mother  District  have  left  us.  We  rejoice  that  Bro.  Bien 
lived  so  long, — 13  years  beyond  the  allotted  span.  For  about 
thirty  years  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  personally  acquainted 
with  him.  I  never  met  a  man  who  was  more  modest  and  retiring 
and  at  the  same  time  possessed  greater  qualifications  as  a  leader 
of  men. 

Julius  Bien  was  a  man  of  great  force  of  character,  of  great 
will  power,  an  untiring  student,  possessed  of  more  than  or- 
dinary common  sense,  gentle  and  kind  towards  his  fellow  men, 
and  in  all  his  actions  guided  by  calm  judgment.  No  one  can 

41 


truthfully  speak  ill  of  Julius  Bien.  His  career  is  ended,  his 
life's  history  like  an  open  book  is  now  before  us.  Those  who 
will  take  the  time  to  read  his  messages  to  the  Order,  written 
during  the  thirty-two  years  that  he  was  at  its  head,  will  learn 
much  of  the  value  of  his  life  to  the  Order  as  well  as  to  the 
entire  human  race,  and  will  the  more  readily  appreciate  the 
great  loss  sustained  by  his  death. 

During  the  past  five  years  we  have  lost  by  ^Leath  in  the 
American  Districts  2227.  It  is  impossible  to  name  them  all, 
much  as  we  would  like  to  pay  tribute  to  their  memory.  I  there- 
fore limit  this  memorial  to  the  names  of  those  who  at  some  time 
during  their  life  were  leaders  in  their  respective  Districts. 

District  No.  1. 

Samuel  D.  Sewards,  Solomon  B.  Wolfe,  Jacob  B.  Ullman, 
Marcus  Berliner,  Isaac  Rosnosky,  Henry  W.  Cane,  Sigmund 
Hamburger,  Nathan  Kempner. 

District  No.  2. 

M.  Buchman,  Max  J.  Mack,  Morton  S.  Cohen,  Nathan  M. 
Uri. 

District  No.  3. 

Max  Thalheimer,  Jacob  Holzner,  M.  C.  Hirsch,  S.  W.  Good- 
man, Berthold  J.  Potsdamer,  Charles  Marks. 

District  No.  4. 

H.  Marks,  Abraham  Ansbacher,  Julius  Platshek,  Solomon 
Zekind,  H.  P.  Bush,  B.  A.  D'Ancona,  Rev.  Jacob  Voorsanger, 
Harry  E.  Heineman. 

District  No.  5. 

Lionel  C.  Levy,  E.  A.  Waxelbaum,  David  Kaufman,  Herman 
Witlock,  Moses  Hutzler. 

District  No.  6. 

Edward  Rubovits,  Adolph  Moses,  Adolph  Loeb,  E.  C.  Ham- 
burger, Harry  Swimmer,  Dr.  Bernard  Felsenthal,  Dr.  Aaron 
Norden,  David  Adler,  David  Fish. 

42 


District  No.  7. 
Isidore  Newman,  Julius  Weiss,  Simon  Gumbel,  Abraham  Weil. 

District  No.  8. 
Gustav  Tuch. 

District  No.  10. 
Dr.  Leon  Horowitz,  Dr.  Emil  Byk. 

They  are  gone,  these  good  men,  the  way  of  all  men.  And 
as  they  went  so  must  we  all  go  when  our  allotted  course  is 
run.  May  we  take  thought  of  their  lives,  and  so  live  our  own, 
that  meeting,  as  we  fondly  hope  to  meet  in  the  life  beyond 
those  dear  friends  who  have  gone  before,  we  may  greet  them 
with  the  consciousness  that  each  of  us  in  our  own  way  and  to 
the  best  of  our  several  abilities,  earnestly  and  faithfully  en- 
deavored to  follow  their  illustrious  example. 

COMMON  GROUND. 

It  will  not  do  either  to  ignore  or  to  shut  our  eyes  to  what 
is  going  on.  A  tremendous  dynamic  force  has  been  at  work 
in  the  camp  of  Israel.  Passions  have  been  aroused.  Schisms 
have  been  created,  and  where  peace  and  harmony  are  so  essential 
strife  and  discord  reign.  We  have  the  Zionist  and  the  anti- 
Zionist  ;  the  Orthodox  and  Reformed,  with  their  respective  chasms 
constantly  widening;  their  antipathies  steadily  growing.  In 
my  judgment  it  is  the  province  of  the  Order  to  continue  in  the 
path  which  it  has  pursued  from  its  inception.  It  must  not  look 
to  the  right  nor  to  the  left.  It  must  not  favor  or  discountenance 
movements  within  our  own  ranks,  on  which  Jewish  opinion  are 
pronounced  and  varied,  but  on  the  contrary,  the  Order  must 
continue  to  be  the  rallying  ground  for  all  Jews  regardless  of 
political  or  religious  opinions.  We  have  no  more  to  do  with 
the  national  or  the  political  Jew  than  we  have  to  do  with  the 
radical,  reform,  conservative  or  orthodox  Jew.  We  must  con- 
tinue in  our  endeavor  to  unite  Israelites;  we  must  continue 
to  show  a  solid  front  to  our  foes;  we  must  continue  to  promot- 

43 


fraternity,  peace  and  harmony  among  all  the  children  of  Israel. 

There  never  was  a  time  when  peace  among  us  was  more 
essential  than  it  is  at  present.  The  changed  condition  of  our 
population,  the  constantly  changing  economic  conditions  of  the 
country,  the  great  strides  and  advances  which  are  made  by  those 
of  our  co-religionists  who  have  but  recently  come  to  our  shores, 
all  demand  at  our  hands  the  most  careful  consideration,  the 
closest  study,  and  the  greatest  effort  in  behalf  of  peace,  harmony 
and  conciliation.  There  never  was  a  time  when  our  Order  could 
and  should  become  a  more  potent  influence  for  good,  or  be 
availed  of  to  better  advantage  by  all  the  elements  of  our  Jewish 
population  than  the  present  time. 

STATE  OF  THE  OKDER. 

The  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  report  fully  as  to 
the  activities  and  conditions  of  their  respective  Districts.  I  will 
therefore  only  briefly  review  each  District. 

District  No.  1. 

Number  1,  the  mother  District  of  the  Order,  shows  a  loss  in 
its  membership  for  the  past  five  years.  The  average  age  of  the 
membership  in  that  District  is  much  higher  than  in  any  other, 
consequently  the  death  rate  is  higher.  During  the  past  five 
years  No.  1  lost  747  members  by  death,  being  more  than  double 
the  number  of  any  other  District.  This  partly  accounts  for  the 
loss  of  membership.  During  the  past  two  years  conditions  have 
improved  and  the  District  has  made  a  net  gain. 

Many  of  the  lodges  are  recruiting  their  ranks  with  young  men, 
who,  not  attracted  by  material  benefits,  are  no  doubt  prepared 
to  work  for  the  altruistic  and  ideal  aims  of  the  Order.  The  Dis- 
trict is  giving  proof  that  it  is  embarking  upon  another  active 
period.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  succeed  in  regaining  its 
former  position  of  leader  in  numbers  and  activity.  Its  present 
membership  is  3,485. 

44 


District  No.  2. 

This  is  now  the  banner  District  of  the  Order  in  America. 
During  the  past  five  years  it  shows  a  net  gain  of  1,423  in  mem- 
bership. Propaganda  for  the  Order  has  been  conducted  by  its 
able  officers  in  a  businesslike  and  systematic  manner.  The 
lodges  in  the  larger  cities  have  by  consolidation  increased  their 
efficiency  for  good  and  have  become  important  factors  in  the 
solution  of  Jewish  questions.  The  largest  two  lodges  are  located 
in  this  District,  wielding  beneficial  influence  in  local  affairs. 
The  District  has  gained  materially  in  importance  not  only 
through  its  increased  numerical  strength,  the  personnel  of  which 
is  excellent,  but  also  through  its  activities  in  the  fields  of  benevo- 
lence and  education.  Its  total  membership  is  5,305. 

District  No.  3. 

Though  this  is  the  smallest  District  in  point  of  area,  it  is 
gratifying  to  note  a  net  increase  of  643  in  its  membership.  This 
is  chiefly  due  to  the  able  work  of  its  leaders  and  the  hearty  co- 
operation of  its  members.  Joshua  Lodge  No.  23  of  Philadelphia 
takes  the  lead.  Many  new  lodges  were  instituted  in  the  smaller 
communities.  In  many  localities  the  lodge  is  the  only  organiza- 
tion doing  communal  work.  During  its  last  convention  held  in 
January  of  this  year,  the  District  Grand  Lodge  resolved  to  es- 
tablish an  orphanage  within  its  territory,  thus  giving  material 
proof  of  its  virility  and  commendable  activity  in  the  furtherance 
of  the  Order's  aims  and  objects.  Its  total  membership  is  2,700. 

District  No.  4. 

The  terrible  disaster  of  1906,  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  the 
stronghold  of  the  District,  served  temporarily  at  least  to  check 
its  growth  and  development.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  fraternity 
of  the  Pacific  slope,  that  in  point  of  membership  as  well  as  in 
activity,  the  District  has  not  only  fully  regained  all  it  lost 
through  the  earthquake  and  fire,  but  has  made  material  progress. 
The  District  shows  a  net  gain  of  387  in  membership.  Eegard- 

45 


ing  its  activities  it  is  noteworthy  that  under  the  auspices  and 
upon  the  initiative  of  Los  Angeles  Lodge  an  Orphan  Asylum  in 
Southern  California  has  been  established.  The  lodges  of  San 
Francisco  are  now  erecting  a  B'nai  B'rith  building,  to  be  com- 
pleted about  June  1st,  which  will  also  serve  as  headquarters  for 
the  members  of  the  Order,  offering  them  all  the  usual  facilities  of 
a  well  regulated  club.  It  is  expected  that  this  undertaking  will 
materially  aid  the  lodges  and  help  to  sustain  the  present  lively 
interest.  Los  Angeles  and  Portland  contemplate  the  erection  of 
B'nai  B'rith  buildings.  Total  membership  of  the  District  is 
2,639. 

District  No.  5. 

In  reviewing  the  conditions  of  District  No.  5  I  call  attention 
to  the  anomalous  situation  as  shown  by  the  fact  that  there  is  no 
lodge  in  Baltimore,  the  seat  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  that  District. 
Baltimore  contains  a  large  Jewish  population  which  is  reputed  to 
be  progressive  and  active  in  Jewish  affairs.  The  establishment  of 
a  lodge  in  that  community  would  be  of  mutual  advantage  to  the 
community  and  the  Order.  No.  5  was  the  only  District  which 
made  no  provision  for  a  reserve  endowment  fund.  What  should 
have  been  foreseen  years  before  would  happen,  did  happen. 
The  time  came  when  it  was  realized  that  the  obligations, 
undertaken  with  reference  to  the  payment  of  death,  benefits,  could 
not  be  carried  out.  Hence,  the  endowment  feature  in  that  Dis- 
trict had  to  be  abandoned.  The  loss  of  membership  followed 
rapidly. 

Thirty  lodges  lost  their  charters  either  by  suspension  or  vol- 
untary surrender.  Five  years  ago  the  District  had  901  mem- 
bers. It  now  has  only  841.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  this 
would  be  a  poor  showing,  but  I  find  much  encouragement  in  the 
fact  that  in  spite  of  the  unfortunate  endowment  trouble  so  many 
have  remained  loyal.  It  can  at  least  be  said  for  the  present 
membership  that  no  selfish  motives  prompt  them  to  remain  in 
the  Order.  Some  of  the  leading  Jews  in  the  country  live  in  this 
District  and  are  members  of  the  Order.  The  present  President 

46 


of  the  District  seems  to  take  considerable  interest  in  its  affairs 
and  I  believe  tHat  long  before  the  next  convention  meets  all  the 
losses  in  that  District  will  be  made  good.  Sixteen  new  lodges 
were  instituted  within  the  last  five  years.  It  is  however  not 
enough  to  institute  a  lodge.  The  Grand  Lodge  officers  should 
use  their  best  efforts  to  encourage  and  stimulate  the  new  lodges 
in  the  work  of  the  Order.  Effort  should  be  made  to  revive  some 
of  the  lodges  now  extinct,  especially  in  Baltimore. 

District  No.  6. 

The  net  gain  of  membership  in  this  District  during  the  past 
five  years  is  1,294,  the  percentage  of  increase  being  the  largest 
of  all  the  American  Districts.  A  number  of  new  lodges  were 
instituted  and  noteworthy  is  the  fact  that  the  banner  of  the 
Order  has  been  planted  in  new  territories,  namely:  at  Fargo, 
N.  D.,  and  Winnipeg,  Canada.  Winnipeg  Lodge  is  the  only 
lodge  in  Canada.  This  lodge  was  instituted  with  35  members. 
It  now  has  136  members.  The  District,  has  since  the  last  con- 
vention established  a  B'nai  B'rith  Free  Employment  Bureau  in 
Chicago,  maintained  by  the  Chicago  lodges  and  the  Grand  Lodge 
and  now  also  subventioned  by  the  Associated  Jewish  Charities. 
In  some  of  the  smaller  communities  where  no  congregations  ex- 
ist, the  lodges  maintain  Sabbath  schools.  In  some  cities  night 
schools  for  immigrants  are  maintained. 

New  lodges  and  new  men  with  new  ideas  is  the  result  of  the 
work  carried  on  in  this  District.  The  total  membership  is  3,816. 

District  No.  7. 

This  District,  an  empire  in  itself,  has  made  marked  progress 
in  its  growth  and  development.  In  this,  the  youngest  of  our 
American  Districts,  signs  of  active,  vigorous  life  are  everywhere 
displayed.  It  is  true  that  the  majority  of  the  lodges  have  a  small 
membership.  This  is  due  to  lack  of  available  material.  The 
lodges  are  scattered  over  an  extensive  territory,  widely  separated 
from  each  other.  They  serve  as  monitors,  safeguarding  the  in- 
terests of  Judaism  in  their  respective  localities.  The  members 

47 


in  this  District  tax  themselves  more  per  capita  for  the  main- 
tenance of  charitable  institutions  than  those  of  any  other  Amer- 
ican District.  With  the  constant  increase  in  the  number  of 
lodges,  new  centers  of  activity  and  new  co-operators  in  our  work 
and  cause  are  being  secured.  Its  membership  is  4,061. 

District  No.  8,  Germany. 

This  District  is  universally  recognized  and  acknowledged  as 
the  crowning  jewel  in  the  diadem  of  the  Order's  efforts.  It  has 
7,935  members.  This  membership  consists  of  the  most  representa- 
tive of  our  faith  in  that  country ;  they  manifest  unusual  interest 
in  the  development  of  our  Order;  they  aim  to  live  up  to  and 
carry  out  the  preamble  to  our  constitution.  In  matters  of  phil- 
anthropy District  No.  8  has  no  superior  and  few  if  any  equals. 
It  maintains  recreation  colonies  and  gives  special  care  to  the 
children  of  the  poor.  For  the  relief  of  the  unemployed,  Free 
Labor  Bureaus  have  been  established,  training  schools  for  nurses, 
homes  for  girls,  Toynbee  halls,  orphan  homes,  asylums  for 
feeble-minded  children,  schools  for  backward  pupils  and  elee- 
mosynary institutions  of  all  sorts  and  character  have  been 
founded  and  are  being  maintained  by  the  lodges  and  the  Dis- 
trict at  large.  District  No.  8  is  truly  responsive  to  the  needs  of 
the  times  and  is  a  worthy  exponent  of  the  principles  of  the  Order. 

District  No.  9,  Roumania. 

The  condition  of  this  District  did  not  improve  during  the  past 
five  years;  if  any  change  is  apparent  it  is  for  the  worse.  Only 
eight  of  the  former  thirteen  lodges  are  in  existence.  A  fact 
which  may  have  had  a  bearing  upon  the  loss  in  the  number  of 
lodges  in  this  District  is  that  the  lodges  steadfastly  abstained 
there,  as  they  do  everywhere  from  meddling  in  political  affairs. 
This  was  interpreted  by  the  younger  element  as  a  refusal  on  the 
part  of  the  Order  to  grapple  with  questions  affecting  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Jewish  people  and  caused  dissatisfaction.  The  lodges 
are  active  in  extending  relief  to  the  needy,  and  they  maintain 
various  institutions,  such  as  vacation  colonies  for  convalescent 

48 


poor  children,  society  for  furnishing  clothing  to  the  poor,  ele- 
mentary schools  for  boys  and  girls,  stations  for  distributing  free 
meals.  They  also  maintain  a  high  school  for  girls.  The  Grand 
Lodge  aided  by  some  of  the  lodges  has  carried  on  a  systematic 
fight  against  the  so-called  "More  Judaico,"  which  has  required 
heavy  sacrifices  of  money  and  personal  service.  The  District  is 
fortunate  in  having  such  a  man  as  Dr.  Adolphe  Stern  as 
President. 

District  No.  10,  Austria. 

Fifteen  years  ago  District  Grand  Lodge  No.  10  was  inaugu- 
rated. In  this  comparatively  brief  period  of  time  the  District 
has  made  marvelous  progress.  Kepresentatives  of  the  best  ele- 
ments in  Jewry  have  responded  to  the  call  of  the  Order  and  en- 
rolled themselves  as  its  members.  The  lodges  are  the  pioneers 
and  pathfinders  in  all  charitable  and  beneficent  undertakings. 
It  is  true  that  the  membership  is  small,  but  what  it  lacks  in 
numbers  it  makes  up  in  the  quality  and  standing  of  its  mem- 
bers. As  visible  monuments  to  their  benevolent  activity  I  may 
mention  homes  for  orphans, labor  bureaus  in  many  cities,  Toyn- 
bee  halls  and  libraries,  vacation  colonies  and  homes  for  children, 
homes  for  nurses,  and  principally  the  aid  furnished  to  the  Gali- 
cian  Jews.  Without  egotism  and  with  unstinted  liberality  the 
brothers  of  District  No.  10  are  laboring  for  the  furtherance  of 
all  noble  aims  and  worthy  philanthropies. 

The  Orient. 

Jeruschelajim  Lodge  of  Jerusalem,  Palestine,  has  continued  in 
its  beneficent  work  of  ameliorating  the  conditions  of  the  poor. 
Through  its  initiative  a  colony  was  established  at  Mozza  and  a 
kindergarten  in  its  home  city.  The  principal  work  of  the  lodge 
consists  in  the  maintenance  of  the  Central  Library  at  Jerusalem, 
which  is  continually  being  enlarged. 

Schaar  Zion  Lodge  of  Jaffa  maintains  the  "Schaar  Zion  Hos- 
pital/' the  only  Jewish  hospital  in  that  city,  the  chief  port  of 
Palestine,  where  poor  sick  co-religionists  seek  relief. 

49 


Galil  Lodge  of  SaSed,  Palestine,  has  during  the  past  five  years 
concentrated  its  activities  upon  the  following:  It  has  subven- 
tioned  professional  men,  enabling  them  to  pursue  their  calling; 
maintains  a  library  and  reading  room ;  conducts  a  kindergarten, 
at  which  an  average  attendance  of  120  children  is  reported; 
maintains  school  for  the  teaching  of  the  Arabic  and  Turkish 
languages ;  takes  care  of  the  sick  and  has  a  special  committee  to 
look  after  this  feature  of  its  activity.  The  lodge  owns  its  own 
building,  in  which  the  library  and  public  lecture  hall  is  situated. 
Arze-Levonon  Lodge,  of  Beyruth,  Syria,  is  actively  engaged 
in  the  maintenance  of  a  night  school  and  kindergarten. 

Mizpah  Lodge  of  Philippopoli,  Bulgaria,  is  the  first  lodge 
instituted  in  that  country.  It  works  diligently  and  has  attained 
notable  results.  Due  to  it,  "Ezra"  Lodge  of  Varna,  Bulgaria, 
was  instituted  in  1907,  and  it  is  now  organizing  a  sister  lodge  at 
Eustchuk. 

Ezra  Lodge  of  Varna,  Bulgaria,  is  the  youngest  lodge  in  the 
Orient,  having  been  instituted  April  23,  1907.  This  lodge  has 
done  good  work  in  harmonizing  the  various  and  conflicting  ele- 
ments of  its  local  Jewry.  In  the  field  of  charity  the  lodge  also 
manifests  activity;  it  organized  a  society  to  aid  the  sick  and  a 
women's  society  for  furnishing  clothing  to  the  poor.  Though 
the  lodge  numbers  only  33  members,  it  disbursed  for  benevolent 
purposes  more  than  3,600  francs  since  its  institution. 

We  have  several  other  lodges  in  the  Orient,  but  hear  from 
them  very  seldom.  Our  position  there  needs  strengthening,  and 
as  soon  as  we  have  there  a  sufiicient  number  of  lodges  and  mem- 
bership a  new  District  should  be  created.  To  facilitate  matters 
in  that  direction  I  recommend  that  the  Executive  Committee  be 
authorized  to  appoint  from  year  to  year  and  until  such  time 
as  a  new  District  is  formed  there,  some  member  of  the  Order 
outside  of  the  United  States  as  an  additional  member  of  the 
Executive  Committee  to  represent  the  lodges  of  the  Orient. 

On  Jan.  1,  1905,  we  had  a  total  membership  in  the  American 
Districts  of  18,728.  In  Districts  8,  9,  10,  8,091.  On  Dec.  31, 

50 


1909,  the  membership  in  the  American  Districts  was  22,847; 
in  Districts  8,  9  and  10,,  9,926.  And  in  the  Orient  from  reports 
received  350,  making  a  total  membership  of  the  Order  33,123, 
a  net  increase  during  the  last  five  years  of  6,004  members,  a 
gain  of  22.15  per  cent,  being  a  larger  increase  than  at  any  equal 
period  of  time  in  the  history  of  the  Order. 

At  the  last  session  of  the  convention  there  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  treasurer  of  the  Executive  Committee  the  sum  of  $19,914.86, 
which  included  the  sum  of  $4,143.00  paid  by  Districts  Nos.  2 
and  6  as  their  installments  for  the  first  six  months  of  the  year 
1905.  From  the  amount  on  hand  the  expenses  of  the  convention 
had  to  be  paid.  On  Dec.  31,  1909,  there  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
treasurer  of  the  Executive  Committee  the  sum  of  $24,684.39. 

Since  the  meeting  of  the  last  convention  the  Districts  paid 
to  widows  and  orphans  $1,243,070.48,  and  to  charity  $1,145,- 
118.12. 

HOT  SPRINGS  SANITARIUM. 

At  the  last  convention  the  following  resolution  was  presented : 

"That  the  Constitution  Grand  Lodge  give  the  movement  (of 
establishing  a  Sanitarium  at  Hot  Springs  which  is  to  be  a  na- 
tional institution)  its  hearty  endorsement,  that  it  offer  its  ma- 
chinery in  support  of -whatever  efforts  may  be  made  to  solicit 
money  and  to  obtain  from  Congress  a  grant  of  land  on  East 
Mountain  at  Hot  Springs." 

The  above  resolution  was  referred  by  the  Convention  to  the 
Committee  on  Charitable  Objects,  and  the  following  report  was 
presented  by  the  Committee: 

"Your  Committee  recommends  that  this  matter  be  referred  to 
the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Constitution  Grand  Lodge,  and 
that  the  sense  of  this  Convention  be  that  this  Constitution 
Grand  Lodge  give  its  moral  support  to  this  movement." 

The  attention  of  the  Executive  Committee  was  called  to  the 
fact  that  the  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  failed 
to  show  any  action  by  the  Convention  with  reference  thereto. 

51 


The  subject  matter,  however,  was  taken  up  for  consideration 
by  the  Executive  Committee  at  its  meeting  held  in  Boston  on 
May  31,  1908,  upon  presentation  of  a  communication  from  Dis- 
trict Grand  Lodge  No.  7,  calling  attention  to  the  conditions  at 
Hot  Springs  and  to  the  work  of  the  Hot  Springs  Relief  Com- 
mittee. The  Executive  Committee  resolved  to  issue  a  circular 
letter  to  the  lodges  of  the  Order  urging  their  substantial  and 
moral  support  in  behalf  of  the  Hot  Springs  Relief  Committee. 

At  the  following  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  it  was 
resolved  that  the  President  recommend  that  the  Constitution 
Grand  Lodge  allow  to  the  Hot  Springs  sanitarium  such  financial 
aid  as  it  may  deem  proper.  I  therefore  submit  that  question  to 
your  favorable  consideration. 

NATIONAL  JEWISH  HOSPITAL  FOR  CONSUMPTIVES, 
DENVER,  COLO. 

It  is  a  little  more  than  a  decade  since  the  Denver  Hospital 
first  opened  its  doors  for  the  relief  of  sufferers  from  the  White 
Plague.  At  the  beginning,  the  capacity  of  the  Hospital  was  lim- 
ited to  thirty-five  patients.  Now,  after  a  lapse  of  ten  years,  the 
hospital  takes  care  of  132  patients,  and  there  is  a  waiting  list 
of  poor  patients,  longing  for  admission.  The  hospital  received 
during  the  period  from  May  1,  1905,  to  Dec.  31,  1909,  the  sum 
of  $382,490.82  for  the  general  fund,  and  disbursed  during  the 
period  from  the  same  fund,  $344,765.83.  Of  those  receipts  the 
sum  of  $48,115.28  or  13-27/100  per  cent  was  contributed  by  the 
Order.  The  hospital  during  the  last  period  of  44  months  shows 
an  average  annual  surplus  of  $4,834.08. 

The  action  of  the  Order  has  placed  the  Hospital  for  Con- 
sumptives on  a  solid  foundation.  It  is  now  recognized  by  the 
American  Jewry  as  an  institution  entitled  to  its  support- 
Therefore  the  time  is  rapidly  approaching  when  the  money  which 
we  pay  to  that  institution,  or  at  least  a  part  thereof,  can  and 
ought  to  be  used  to  aid  Borne  other  worthy  institution.  The 

52 


Executive  Committee  has  made  a  personal  investigation  of  the 
hospital,  was  very  favorably  impressed  with  the  management  as 
well  as  with  the  good  results  to  the  patients.  I  recommend  that 
the  Denver  hospital  be  allowed  for  the  next  five  years  annually 
40  cents  for  each  member  in  the  first  seven  Districts,  but  that 
the  Executive  Committee  be  authorized  to  reduce  said  amount 
from  time  to  time  if  in  their  judgment  it  will  be  proper  so  to  do. 

SECRETARY. 

In  compliance  with  the  law  adopted  at  the  last  Constitution 
Grand  Lodge  Convention,  abolishing  the  office  of  "Honorary 
Secretary"  and  creating  instead  the  office  of  Secretary,  Brother 
A.  B.  Seelenfreund,  of  Chicago,  was  appointed  secretary  by  and 
with  the  concurrence  of  the  Executive  Committee.  It  is  due 
to  him  to  say  that  his  services  have  been  satisfactory. 

LEO  N.  LEVI  MEMOEIAL  VOLUME. 

The  writings  of  our  lamented  President,  Leo.  N.  Levi,  rich 
in  wisdom  and  gems  in  English  literature,  were  compiled,  pub- 
lished and  distributed  among  the  members  of  the  Order.  This 
book  is  an  ornament  to  the  best  library.  Specially  bound  copies 
of  the  volume  were  presented  to  the  members  of  the  author's 
family.  Twenty  thousand  copies  were  published,  of  which  num- 
ber about  five  hundred  copies  remain  on  hand. 

CHANCELLOR  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS. 

On  December  2,  1907,  Bro.  Bien  wrote  me  the  following 
letter : 

"MY  DEAR  BROTHER  KRAUS  :  Continued  ill  health  and  poor 
prospect  of  speedy  improvement  in  regaining  sufficient  strength 
to  enable  me  to  do  justice  to  my  office,  impel  me  to  tender  you 
my  resignation  as  Chancellor  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

"It  is  with  deep  regret  that  I  take  this  step,  having  been  so  in- 
timately connected  with  our  foreign  jurisdictions  since  their 

53 


establishment,  but  my  interest  in  their  welfare  will  not  cease, 
and  I  shall  be  happy  to  render  them  any  service  in  my  power. 
In  a  few  days  I  will  send  you  some  documents  which  will  throw 
light  on  the  state  of  the  Order  in  the  various  countries. 

"Kindly  give  official  information  of  my  resignation  to  the 
foreign  Grand  Lodge  and  Lodges. 


"It  remains  for  me  to  express  to  you  my  sincere  thanks  for 
the  uniform  courtesy  and  consideration  shown  during  your  ad- 
ministration. 

"With  best  wishes  for  your  future  success  in  the  exalted  office 
which  you  fill  with  so  much  zeal  and  ability, 
"Fraternally  yours, 

"JULIUS  BIEN." 

I  replied  as  follows: 

"Dec.  4,  1907. 

"My  DEAR  BROTHER  BIEN:  I  have  carefully  considered  the 
contents  of  yours  of  Dec.  2d.  I  doubt  whether  I  have  the  power 
to  accept  your  resignation  as  Chancellor  if  I  wanted  to,  and  I 
am  sure  I  don't  want  to.  This  office  was  created  for  you  because 
the  members  of  the  Order  desired  to  show  the  high  esteem  in 
which  they  held  you.  Should  you  insist  upon  resigning,  then 
in  my  opinion,  the  office  will  remain  vacant.  That  office  was 
created  as  the  one  of  the  highest  distinction  and  in  recognition 
for  long  and  faithful  services,  especially  in  foreign  lands.  We 
have  no  one  competent  to  be  your  successor. 

"Now  will  you  please  permit  me  a  suggestion?  Suppose  you 
dictate  a  letter  to  each  one  of  the  European  districts  requesting 
them,  owing  to  your  ill  health,  to  communicate  with  me  instead 
of  you  until  further  notice.  If  my  wife's  health  will  permit  it, 
I  will  go  to  Europe  next  summer  and  remain  there  for  a  year, 
and  the  correspondence  between  those  districts  and  this  office 
in  the  meantime  will  bring  me  in  touch  with  them  to  a  certain 
extent  before  my  arrival. 

54 


"The  next  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  will  be  called 
in  the  East,  and  I  hope  you  will  be  strong  enough  to  be  able  to 
attend  it. 

*     *     * 

"With  very  best  wishes  for  your  good  health,  I  am, 
"Sincerely  yours, 

"ADOLF  KBAUS." 
To  the  above  letter  I  received  the  following  reply : 

"NEW  YORK,  Dec.  9,  1907. 

"Hon.  Adolf  Kraus,  Pres.  Executive  Committee,  Tribune  Bldg., 
Chicago,  III. 

"MY  DEAR  BROTHER  KRAUS  :  Only  a  few  lines  to-day,  to  thank 
you  for  your  kind  and  affectionate  letter,  which  has  been  a 
source  of  great  encouragement  to  me,  and  I  will  act  on  your 
suggestion  and  inform  our  foreign  jurisdictions  to  carry  on 
their  official  correspondence  with  you  direct  until  such  time  as 
I  can  take  up  the  work  again  satisfactorily. 

"It  is  an  honor  and  a  pleasure  to  serve  with  you,  and  nothing 
will  give  me  greater  gratification  than  to  be  able  to  hold  out 
during  your  term  of  office. 

"With  affectionate  regards,  I  remain, 
"Sincerely  yours, 

"JULIUS  BIEN." 

I  recommend  that  the  office  of  Chancellor  of  Foreign  Affairs 
be  abolished  for  two  reasons.  1st,  because  I  believe  that  out  of 
respect  to  the  memory  of  Bro.  Bien  the  office  ought  not  to  be 
filled  by  any  other  member,  and,  2nd,  because  there  ought  to  be 
no  divided  responsibility  and  all  records  of  the  Order  should  be 
kept  in  one  office. 

I  >also  make  the  following  recommendations: 

(a)  The  Per  Capita  tax  should  be  increased.  This  is  neces- 
essary,  to  enable  us  to  publish  the  official  organ  of  the  Order; 
to  aid  the  Hot  Springs  sanitarium ;  and  to  have  some  funds  on 

66 


hand  to  be  used  in  case  of  great  emergency.  In  this  connection 
I  recommend  to  Districts  8,  9  and  10,  that  they  create  a  special 
fund  by  setting  aside  annually  such  sum  as  they  may  deem 
proper.  Such  fund  to  be  held  by  them  to  enable  them  to 
promptly  co-operate  with  us  financially  in  cases  of  disaster. 

(b)  I  recommend  that  the  members  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  European  Districts  meet  at  least  once  during  each 
term  of  five  years  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  as  to  measures 
to  be  taken  for  the  best  interest  of  the  Order  in  Europe  and 
that  they  report  their  conclusions  to  the  Executive  Commitee 
of  the  Order. 

(c)  The  last  Convention  provided  that  the  Order  should 
maintain  headquarters  in  the  city  of  New  York.     During  the 
past  five  years  there  has  been  paid  by  the  Executive  Committee 
the  sum  of  $2,857.60  for  maintaining  an  office  and  a  clerk  in 
that  city.    So  far  to  my  knowledge  no  good  reason  has  been  ad- 
vanced why  such  an  office  should  be  maintained  in  the  city  of 
New  York  any  more  than  in  San  Francisco.    If  District  No.  1 
or  any  other  District  should  neecT  any  financial  assistance  from 
the  Executive  Committee  and  the  Executive  Committee  be  in  a 
position  to  render  such  assistance  it  ought  to  be  cheerfully  and 
freely  given,  but  if  the  Executive  Committee  is  to  be  burdened 
with  a  fixed  charge  some  good  reason  ought  to  be  advanced  for  it. 
I  therefore  recommend  that  unless  some  good  reason  is  given  to 
this  convention  why  such  an  office  should  be  maintained  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  such  office  be  abolished. 

(d)  I  recommend  that  the  Executive  Committee  be  author- 
ized and  empowered  to  re-district  some  of  the  Districts  so  as  to 
assign  new  states  and  territories  to  such?  Districts  as  can  prop- 
erly take  care  of  them  and  also  to  apportion  Canada  to  such 
Districts  as  they  may  deem  proper,  the  Canadian  Districts  how- 
ever to  be  subject  to  re-distriction  whenever  a  new  Grand  Lodge 
is  established  in  England  and  in  that  connection  also  to  permit 
such  lodges  as  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee in  lands  over  which  the  English  Government  has  jurisdic- 

56 


tion  to  be  assigned  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  whenever 
formed. 

(e)  The  lodge  in  Winnipeg,  Manitoba,  instituted  by  District 
No.  6  was  assigned  by  the  Executive  Committee  to  No.  6.   The 
two  lodges  in  Switzerland  instituted  by  District  No.  8  were  as- 
signed by  the  Executive  Committee  to  District  No.  8.    I  recom- 
mend that  that  action  be  approved  and  remain  in  force  until  new 
Districts  are  formed. 

(f)  In  view  of  the  fact  that  it  must  be  assumed  that  the 
convention  has  absolute  confidence  in  the  members  of  its  Exec- 
utive Committee,  I  do  not  think  that  the  provision  of  the  law 
limiting  to  $100.00  the  allowance  for  expenses  of  a  member  of 
the  Executive  Committee  for  attending  a  meeting  is  proper.    It 
is  safe  to  say  that  the  average  expense  for  each  meeting  is  less 
than  $100.00  per  member,  but  to  limit  the  expense  of  the  mem- 
ber from  District  No.  4  to  $100.00  is  putting  a  burden  upon 
him  which  is  not  fair.    I  therefore  recommend  that  the  limita- 
tion of  $100.00  be  repealed. 

(g)  I  recommend  that  the  Executive  Committee  be  author- 
ized to  cause  a  gold  medal  appropriately  inscribed  to  be  pre- 
sented by  a  vote  of  the  Executive  Committee,  not  more  than  once 
each  year  to  that  man  or  woman,  regardless  of  creed,  who  con- 
tributes most  during  the  year  to  the  welfare  of  the  Jewish  cause. 

ASSOCIATED  PRESS. 
The  following  correspondence  needs  no  explanation. 

Dec.  23,  1908. 
Melville  E.  Stone,  Esq.,  Manager  Associated  Press. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  STONE  :  If  A.  B.,  an  non-Jew,  commits  a  crime 
the  Associated  Press  dispatches  furnish  the  public  with  the  news 
without  any  reference  as  to  whether  he  is  a  Methodist,  a  Catho- 
lic, or  whatever  Christian  denomination  he  may  belong  to.  If 
however,  A.  B.  happens  to  be  a  Jew,  then  almost  invariably  the 

57 


news  item  informs  us  that  A.  B.,  a  Jew,  etc.,  committed  an  of- 
fense. Is  there  any  good  reason  for  making  such  a  distinction  ? 
Has  not  the  Jew  been  persecuted  for  conscience  sake  enough  for 
these  many  centuries,  and  is  such  a  reference  in  accord  with  the 
American  spirit?  The  press  is  one  of  the  educators  of  the 
American  people.  Should  it  therefore  not  take  care  to  avoid 
anything  which  unnecessarily  and  unjustly  creates  a  prejudice 
with  some,  and  increases  it  with  others  against  a  religious  sect 
whose  members,  as  a  rule,  are  law-abiding  and  patriotic  citizens 
and  furnish  no  greater,  if  as  great,  a  quota  of  criminals  and 
paupers  as  those  of  other  religious  beliefs. 

I  am  convinced  that  the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  Amer- 
ican press  is  free  of  religious  prejudice  and  that  it  is  not  the  in- 
tention of  its  managers  to  create  unnecessarily  in  this  country 
a  hatred  against  any  law-abiding  portion  of  the  people.  I  there- 
fore take  the  liberty  to  inquire  whether  the  Associated  Press 
could  not  without  any  impairment  of  its  news  service  adopt  a 
rule  prohibiting  its  agents  from  publishing  the  religious  beliefs 
of  evil  doers  when  such  belief  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  of- 
fense committed.  I  am  confident  that  it  is  not  the  policy  of  your 
association  to  give  unnecessary  offense  to  any  religious  sect  and 
that  if  it  is  in  your  power  to  remedy  the  evil  which  is  herein 
complained  of,  it  will  be  done.  I  am, 

Very  truly  yours, 

ADOLF  KRAUS. 

Dec.  26,  1908. 
Adolf  Kraus,  Esq.,  Chicago,  III. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  KRAUS  :  I  have  yours  of  Dec.  23rd.  I  think  your 
suggestion  is  a  perfectly  proper  one  and  I  see  no  reason  on  earth 
why  we  should  say  A.  B.  was  a  Jew  any  more  than  we  should  say 
he  was  a  Methodist.  Based  on  your  suggestions  I  will  issue 
precisely  the  instructions  you  indicate. 

Sincerely  yours, 

MELVILLE  E.  STONE, 
General  Manager. 

58 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  LEAGUE. 

The  Educational  League  is  an  organization  which  has  as  its 
object  the  higher  education  of  orphans,  with  offices  in  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  and  a  board  of  governors  in  different  cities  of  the 
Union.  That  the  League  is  entitled  to  encouragement  cannot 
be  questioned.  The  officers  of  the  League  request  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  Order.  They  have  prepared  a  plan  for  that  purpose, 
which  I  herewith  submit  to  the  convention  for  its  careful  con- 
sideration. 

DRAFT  OF  A  PLAN  FOR  THE  AFFILIATION  OF  THE 
I.  0.  B.  B.  WITH  THE  EDUCATIONAL  LEAGUE. 

The  purpose  of  this  plan  is  to  enable  the  I.  0.  B.  B.  to  co- 
operate with  the  Educational  League  in  prosecuting  the  projects 
of  that  Society.  The  Educational  League  was  organized  for 
the  purpose  of  placing  an  opportunity  for  higher  education 
within  the  reach  of  capable  young  men  and  women,  who,  by 
reason  of  the  loss  of  one  or  both  parents,  lack  the  necessary 
means  of  achieving  an  ambition  in  that  direction.  The  method 
pursued  has  been  to  enlist  children  in  this  work  who  contribute 
One  Dollar  annually  to  the  support  of  the  League.  In  this  way, 
not  only  are  orphans  assisted  in  obtaining  higher  education, 
but  also  the  children  enrolled  as  members  are  benefited  by  the 
consciousness  of  being  helpful  to  others.  This  feature  of  the 
League's  organization  should  be  neither  abandoned  nor  lessened 
in  importance;  and  the  plan  which  is  here  proposed  does  not 
in  any  way  conflict  with  this  idea.  The  plan,  in  general,  looks 
to  the  creation  of  such  a  relationship  between  the  Order  and  the 
League  as  will  enable  the  latter  to  obtain  the  benefit  of  the 
power,  prestige  and  organization  facilities  of  the  Order  in  the 
promotion  of  the  objects  for  which  the  League  has  been  formed, 
retaining  at  the  same  time,  the  central  idea  of  the  children's 
connection,  as  above  referred  to. 

59 


The  elements  of  the  plan  are  as  follows: 

First. — The  League  shall  retain  its  identity  and  autonomy. 

Second. — Each  District  Grand  Lodge  in  the  United  States 
shall  have  the  right  to  elect  two  of  its  members  to  serve  on  the 
Board  of  Governors  of  the  League,  and  the  President  and  Secre- 
tary of  the  Executive  Committee  shall  be  members  of  said  Board 
by  virtue  of  their  respective  offices. 

Third. — Each  Lodge  of  the  Order  shall  be  required  to  con- 
stitute a  committee  of  three  from  among  its  members,  of  which 
the  President  of  the  Lodge  shall  be  one,  who  shall  act  as  the 
local  representatives  of  the  League  charged  with  the  duty  of 
furthering  the  aims  of  the  League  under  the  executive  authority 
thereof,  it  being  the  object  and  intent  that  these  committees  of 
the  Lodges  shall  excite  the  interest  of  the  members  of  such 
Lodges  in  the  work  of  the  League,  not  only  with  reference  to 
the  collection  of  funds,  but  especially  with  reference  to  the 
seeking-out  of  eligible  young  men  and  women  worthy  of  the 
assistance  which  the  League  can  afford.  The  Lodges,  through 
their  respective  committees,  should  investigate  and  report  on 
the  qualifications  and  situation  of  such  subjects  for  the  League's 
consideration  and  should  also  give  such  personal  aid  to  the 
beneficiaries,  by  way  of  advice  and  supervision,  as  the  con- 
ditions of  the  case  seem  to  demand.  Provided,  however,  that 
the  League  may  retain  such  representatives  as  it  now  has,  or 
appoint  further  representatives  at  its  discretion  to  act  in  con- 
junction with  the  Lodges. 

Fourth. — The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Order  shall  from 
time  to  time  make  such  contributions  to  the  funds  of  the  League 
as  shall  appear  to  them  advisable.  This,  not  because  of  any 
present  need  of  financial  assistance,  but  rather  to  give  the  Order 
an  additional  incentive  to  keep  alive  its  interest  in  the  League, 
and  to  place  upon  the  officers  of  the  Order  a  greater  responsi- 
bility to  maintain  a  vigilant  activity  in  the  conduct  of  tho 
League's  affairs. 

60 


THE  FLOODS  IN  FKANCE,  JANUAKY  1910. 

In  the  latter  part  of  January  1910,  the  press  brought  news 
of  great  floods  in  Paris  and  other  parts  of  France.  Judging  by 
the  published  report  it  appeared  that  financial  help  would  be 
necessary.  With  the  consent  of  the  Executive  Committee  I 
cabled  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Germany  on  Jan.  29th  to  forward 
to  Paris  Five  Thousand  Francs  on  behalf  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee for  the  sufferers  if  it  was  found  that  money  was  neces- 
sary. I  was  informed  by  cable  and  later  by  letter  that  no  further 
aid  was  needed,  therefore  the  money  was  not  forwarded. 

CONCLUSION. 

Five  years  have  thus  passed  since  the  last  Convention;  and 
in  the  passing  they  have  unfolded  the  mysteries  that  lay  hidden 
within  them.  To  the  immutable  record  of  things  accomplished, 
of  progress  made,  we  must  look  and  judge  therefrom,  whether 
the  hope  of  five  years  ago  has  been  attained.  In  laying  down 
the  responsibilities  with  which  you  honored  me,  I  shall  be  con- 
tent if  in  your  judgment  of  my  stewardship  you  shall  have  found 
me  faithful  of  purpose  and  diligent  of  effort  in  the  great  cause 
for  which  our  Order  stands,  though  lacking  in  the  wisdom  and 
ability  necessary  properly  to  guide  its  destinies. 

Brightly,  more  luminous,  the  future  glows  with  promise  for 
our  Order.  It  cannot  fail  of  glorious  achievement,  for  it  is  the 
incarnation  of  a  spirit,  which  after  long  struggle  with  the  baser 
passions  of  men,  is  emerging  triumphant  from  the  conflict  and 
swiftly  now  it  is  rushing  through  the  world  and  teaching  all 
men  to  own  its  sway — the  spirit  of  the  brotherhood  of  man ! 

ADOLF  KRAUS, 
President. 


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CHICAGO 


